CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga lost to the College of Charleston 96-69 in the semifinals of the Southern Conference men’s basketball tournament Saturday night.
The game became secondary in the second half.
UTC senior forward Ty Patterson required emergency medical attention during a timeout with 11:41 to play in the game.
“He dropped to his knees and grabbed his abdomen,” referee Robbie Robinson said. “We started to go to the monitor to see if he was hit. Then Coach started asking for help.”
EMTs, team doctor Bryan Mayol and trainer MacKenzie McDonald attended to Patterson as he lay on the court in front of the UTC coaching staff for several minutes.
Patterson sat up with a mask on his face and was wheeled off in a sitting position and appeared to be breathing.
At the end of the game, UTC and SoCon officials said Patterson had been taken to Carolina’s Medical Center, but they did not have an update on his condition.
Patterson collapsed with the Mocs down 68-52. He had 14 points, second on the team to Ricky Taylor’s 16.
Charleston senior Andrew Goudelock led all players with 27 points and Tony White Jr. added 22. Goudelock shot 10-of-16 from the floor, including 7-of-10 from the 3-point line. He had 24 points at halftime.
UTC trailed by 20 points with eight minutes to go in the first half but pulled within 45-35 with a quick run. But the Cougars closed the half on an 11-0 run, including a 3 by Andrew Lawrence just before the buzzer.
The Mocs never crept closer than 14 points and trailed by as many as 28 in the second half. Their loss ended a frustrating 15-18 season marred by injuries, suspensions and inconsistent play from a team with one senior.
The Mocs were 6-12 in league play and won only two of their last 10 games.