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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Ty Patterson and Keegan Bell combined for 42 points as host Chattanooga defeated the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team, 68-54, Wednesday night in the championship game of the 2009 Dr Pepper Classic. The Mocs improve to 8-6 overall while the Colonels fall to 8-5.

Eastern shot a season-low 31.7 percent from the floor in the loss. The Colonels settled for three-point shots all evening, attempting a season-high 41 long range shots, but netting just 13 trifectas (31.7 percent).

Junior Justin Stommes led the Colonels with 14 points while sophomore Joshua Jones added 12 points and five assists. Senior Dayvon Ellis provided a spark off the bench with seven points and four assists.

UTC’s Patterson, the tournament’s MVP, tallied his first career double-double with 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Bell finished 6-of-10 (60 percent) from behind the three-point arc on the way to 20 points.

The Mocs quickly jumped on top of Eastern Kentucky as the Colonels went almost seven minutes without a point midway through the first half. Chattanooga built its biggest advantage with 1:40 left, 33-17, before Eastern rattled off the last six points of the half to make the score 33-23 at intermission.

The Colonels quieted the crowd early in the second half by opening with a 15-4 spurt to take their first and only lead of the game, 38-37. Stommes capped the comeback with his only three-pointer of the second half.

After ties at 40- and 43-all, Chattanooga regained the lead for good. Following senior Papa Oppong’s three-pointer to cut the deficit back to two points, 48-46, the Colonels went cold again down the stretch. Eastern hit just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) field goal attempts in the final eight minutes allowing the Mocs to pull away to claim their 13th Dr Pepper Classic title.

This was the first meeting between the two teams and the first time EKU has played a Southern Conference opponent since 1992.

Eastern Kentucky returns home Saturday, Jan. 2 to face conference foe Tennessee State. Game time is set for 7 p.m.