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 basket from the left wing with 58 seconds to go.
UTC (13-10, 5-5), which made four of its last eight free throws, remains in third place, one game behind Appalachian State and two games behind Western Carolina in the North Division.
Ridge McKeither repeated a powerful performance. The junior power forward had 15 points Thursday in the Mocs' 80-67 win over Western Carolina, and he had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against the Mountaineers before a crowd of 4,331.
Senior Ty Patterson scored 19 points and Ricky Taylor added 11 for the Mocs. Donald Sims scored 24 points and Jeremi Booth had 21 for ASU (12-9, 6-4).
The Mocs tied a season high with 14 made 3s of their 36 attempts, shot 42.9 percent from the floor and had only 10 turnovers.
McKeither scored the first four points of the game with power moves inside. Later in the first half, he grabbed an offensive rebound and spun around his defender for a layup that gave UTC a 26-16 lead.
UTC turned a 32-24 lead into an 18-point advantage by scoring on five of six possessions. Patterson capped the run with a four-point trip that started with him drawing an intentional foul as he broke loose on the fastbreak. He hit one free throw and buried a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
But the Mocs scored only three points in the final four minutes and led 51-41 at halftime after shooting 48.7 percent from the floor with only three turnovers. The Mocs had scored 51 points in the second half of their win over the Catamounts, giving them back-to-back 50-point halves.
ASU opened the half with a quick 8-3 run, each point scored by Sims, who had 35 points the last time he faced the Mocs.
UTC survived the threat and ASU never climbed closer than five points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Patterson gave UTC a 67-57 lead with 10 minutes to play on a 3-pointer from the right wing. But two minutes later, ASU had pulled within 68-66 on three 3-pointers and a UTC free throw.
Bell picked up his fourth foul with 7:54 to go when he plowed over his defender on the perimeter. He spent a few minutes on the bench but re-entered and then fouled out with 2:21 to go.
The Mountaineers pulled within one on a 3-pointer by Kellen Brand with 5:13 to go and on two other occasions. But they could never pull even or take the lead.
UTC will take today off, then hit the road Wednesday for a Thursday game at the College of Charleston and a Saturday game at The Citadel.