With both University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball teams competing in their respective Southern Conference tournaments this week in Asheville, North Carolina, the Times Free Press takes a look at five memorable moments in UTC hoops history at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center (formerly the Asheville Civic Center).
The teams have combined for 17 titles at the venue, and each will try to add another over the next few days, with the top-seeded women winning their quarterfinal Thursday to get started and the third-seeded men, who have a first-round bye, jumping in with their own quarterfinal Saturday. The women’s title game is set for noon Sunday, while the men’s title will be settled Monday night.
In each case, the winner clinches an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
5. Survival mode: Men’s edition
The UTC men won the SoCon tournament three years in a row from 1993-95, and the latter title came by the slimmest of margins, with the Mocs winning their three games in Asheville by a combined eight points as they beat Georgia Southern 70-66, East Tennessee State University 71-69 and Western Carolina 63-61. UTC’s Brandon Born, a fifth-year senior from Ringgold, averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game on his way to being named to the SoCon’s all-tournament first team, while fellow forward Pat Henderson had double-doubles in the semifinals and the championship game to make the second team.