Jasper Williams has spent much of the season in coach John Shulman’s doghouse.
But with starting point guard Keegan Bell on the bench with five fouls in the final minutes Saturday night, Williams drained the most important shot of his young career to help the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hold on for an 85-80 Southern Conference basketball win over Appalachian State.
The Mocs held a two-point lead when senior Ty Patterson drove the lane, turned around and passed to Williams, who buried a 3-point shot from the left wing with 58 seconds to go.
“I knew they were going to cut Ty off, so I just ran the play and tried to knock down a shot to make up for those free throws,” said Williams, who missed two foul shots on the previous possession but was bailed out by a rebound from Ridge McKeither.
“Coach told me when I went out there, ‘Go finish this thing strong,'” Williams said. “And I have a secret to stay out of the doghouse — do whatever he says.”