ASHEVILLE, N.C. – As Joshua Phillips walked off the court as a college basketball player for the last time, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Lamont Paris stopped the team’s lone senior and said a few words.
“He told me that he appreciated me and the things I did for the team,” Phillips said.
The Mocs’ first season under Paris ended in Saturday’s Southern Conference tournament with a 77-60 loss to East Tennessee State, with the Mocs falling in the quarterfinals for the second straight year since sweeping the league’s regular-season and tournament titles in 2016. They finished 10-23 this season, with Friday’s first-round win keeping them from becoming the first UTC men’s basketball team in the NCAA Division era that didn’t reach double digits in victories.
There are positives to glean, including lots of close games – 11 of their 18 in league play came down to the final possession – and the fact a frustrating season never seemed to trickle down to the players. If it did, it didn’t show in their effort.
“A lot of that is character,” Paris said Saturday night. “The natural reaction to some of the adversity we’ve faced is to be discouraged, if not quit. When you’re not having the successes you want in terms of wins and losses, even though there was a lot of growth, that adds to that – but we talked multiple times with this group about not being easily discouraged, continue to do what we do, play hard and compete, and if we competed enough times, when that clock came down, we’d be right where we want to be.