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UTC men win again, will face Furman in SoCon title rematch

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / UTC's Jake Stephens (33) works his way toward the basket during a Jan. 18 home game against Furman. No. 7 seed UTC and top-seeded Furman will meet in the SoCon tournament title game Monday night in Asheville, N.C. It will be a rematch of last year's final, which UTC won in overtime.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / UTC's Jake Stephens (33) works his way toward the basket during a Jan. 18 home game against Furman. No. 7 seed UTC and top-seeded Furman will meet in the SoCon tournament title game Monday night in Asheville, N.C. It will be a rematch of last year's final, which UTC won in overtime. Staff photo by Olivia Ross / UTC's Jake Stephens (33) works his way toward the basket during a Jan. 18 home game against Furman. No. 7 seed UTC and top-seeded Furman will meet in the SoCon tournament title game Monday night in Asheville, N.C. It will be a rematch of last year's final, which UTC won in overtime.

By Gene Henley 5 min read

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — As he was making the trip from the locker room to the press area after Sunday night’s 74-62 win over Wofford to advance to the Southern Conference championship game against Furman, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior forward Jake Stephens was stopped numerous times to slap high-fives and take pictures.

He had the same message for everyone he encountered.

“We’ve got one more,” the 7-footer said.

That type of chance is why he chose to join UTC as a graduate transfer after a successful career under Dan Earl at Virginia Military Institute, picking the Mocs over a bevy of other opportunities once Earl got the head job in the Scenic City last April. Stephens wanted a championship, and it would be even more special to do so in the same league where he played the past four seasons.

But he has found out something along the way: Chattanooga has a rich college basketball history, and the fans turn out. Despite an up-and-down regular season that ended 15-16 and with Stephens missing the final 11 games due to injury, the Mocs finished second in the SoCon in attendance.