KENNESAW, Ga. -- Dontay Hampton is the hero.
Wait, maybe, it's DeAntre Jefferson. Perhaps Josh Odem, Chris Early or Keegan Bell were the stars of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 73-69 win at Kennesaw State.
No, it's Hampton according to sophomore guard Ricky Taylor.
The sophomore walk-on point guard from Arts & Sciences forced KSU's Spencer Dixon to travel with 50 seconds to play and the Owls looking to tie the score.
"We're proud of him," Taylor said. "He played exclusive defense on their point guard and made a big play at a big time. He's the reason we won."
The rest of the Mocs did their part and played their roles in UTC's first victory of the season.
Bell spread the ball around and finished with seven assists. Jefferson led the Mocs with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Odem added 14 points including two free throws with 4.6 seconds to go that sealed the win.
Taylor had 10 points, Early scored nine and Hampton made the critical play with Bell in foul trouble and sitting next to UTC coach John Shulman.
"We did do this thing together, and we're trying to find an identity," Shulman said. "We have some guys who make goofy plays. Right now, we may be a bunch of goof-balls but we're goof-balls together."
The Owls, who beat Georgia Tech 80-63 on Monday for the fledgling program's first win over a BCS conference team, were led by Markeith Cummings who scored 26 points. Dixson had 17 points, but made the critical turnover, and LaDaris Green added 12 points.
"We're a breath away from being 3-0," KSU coach Tony Ingle said. "If LaDaris' shot [with 18 seconds to play] goes in, what do we have?"
But the Mocs made a second consecutive stop, first with Hampton forcing the turnover then Green missing a floater and the ball falling out of bounds to UTC.
"I think [Hampton] changed the game more than anything," Jefferson said. "I think Tay is the big brother. He pressures the ball, he does all our little stuff. He plays hard and that's a great lesson for the rest of us."
The game started with a frenetic pace, with Owls running on adrenaline from their historic win on Monday and Mocs running with them.
Unlike previous games, the Mocs were able to get early looks inside, but they couldn't convert and fell behind 11-2 less than five minutes into the game.
The Mocs never faced a larger deficit in the first half. But they never pulled even. Jefferson had a chance to tie it at 27, but his free throw bounced out.
The Owls took a 32-28 lead into halftime.
Josh Odem tied it at 45 with a 3-pointer from the right corner and Jefferson gave the Mocs their first lead at 49-47 with just under 12 minutes to play when he sank two freebies during a stretch of seven straight possessions with points.
UTC fell behind four points with 3:30 to go, but Jefferson hit a bucket, Odem made two free throws and Taylor converted a 3-point play. Jefferson gave UTC a 71-69 lead with an inside bucket, then Hampton made the biggest stop of his career.
A winning stop for a bunch of goof-balls.