A.J. Caldwell hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to propel the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team to a 74-72 win over Mercer at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia on Monday. It was the second win for the Mocs over Mercer in the span of just three days.
Caldwell’s shot capped a wild final sequence in which the Mocs (20-5, 10-2 Southern Conference) saw Grant Ledford miss a layup with 18 seconds to play that was rebounded by the Bears (13-12, 6-6) and led to a wide-open dunk by James Glisson III with nine seconds to play. UTC’s Malachi Smith attacked the basket, drawing multiple defenders before passing out to a wide-open Caldwell, who knocked down the shot.
Mercer also had a chance to win the game in regulation, holding a 62-59 advantage in the final seconds before Jalen Johnson fouled David Jean-Baptiste with five seconds to go. The senior knocked down all three foul shots to tie the game and force overtime.
“These are the days I’ll always remember why I love doing my job. What an awesome game,” UTC head coach Lamont Paris said on the postgame Zoom conference. “Someone was going to have to lose and at times it looked like it might be us – unfortunately it’s just the way it goes. Somebody had to walk out of that game and not win, but what a good college basketball game. Our guys fought until the end.”
Six-foot-11 reserve forward Avery Diggs came off the bench and scored a career-high 21 points while adding five rebounds. All but four of his points came in the second half and overtime. Smith finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Jean-Baptiste added 15 points and three assists.