[ad_1]
16 hours ago Tennessee Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After its early 11-point lead become a seven-point second-half deficit Saturday night at No. 14/13 Alabama, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team stormed back to claim its second top-15 win of the week with an 81-74 triumph.
In a matchup of the conference’s co-lead, fourth-ranked Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) got a team-best 18 points from junior guard Zakai Zeigler at a sold-out Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide had won 16 straight SEC games in the building, which held College GameDay earlier in the afternoon for the first time ever.
The Volunteers scored 10 straight points in just 2:59 midway through the opening half to grab an 11-point edge, 23-12, with 10:53 on the clock. They held Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) scoreless for a span of 3:46 and made eight of their first 14 shots, while the home team hit just four of its opening 15.
The Crimson Tide hit six of their next seven field-goal attempts, sparking a 17-7 run to slice the deficit to one, but Tennessee answered with the next nine in just 1:09, going back up by 10, 39-29, with 3:47 left in the frame. Alabama, though, scored the final 12 points of the session, all in a span of 2:27, and took a 39-37 advantage into the locker room.
After a 10-of-21 start from the field, Tennessee went 2-of-11 down the stretch of the half and finished it 12-of-32 (37.5 percent), including 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) beyond the arc. At the other end, the Crimson Tide made 10 of its final 16 shots to post a 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) clip, including a 7-of-20 (35.0 percent) ledger on 3-pointers. Both teams missed just two free throws, but the Volunteers attempted 12 and conceded only eight.
Alabama logged five of the second half’s opening six points, making it a 17-1 extended surge over 4:31, to take a then-game-best six-point lead, 46-40, but Tennessee countered with a 9-2 burst featuring a trio of 3-pointers in 1:08 to go back in front, 49-48, with 16:53 to go.
The Volunteers, however, missed their next 10 field goals-part of a 1-of-13 stretch-and Alabama went on a 10-2 run during 3:32 of that span, going up by a game-high seven points, 58-51, with 13:43 remaining. Tennessee responded with a 19-7 burst-the Crimson Tide had its own 1-of-17 stretch from the field-to go ahead by five, 70-65, with 3:38 left.
Tennessee pushed the margin up to seven, 79-72, with 17.2 seconds remaining and the two sides exchanged the final four points to make it a seven-point final margin. Zeigler iced the game at the line with 5.4 seconds to go.
After allowing the Crimson Tide to start 6-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-4 beyond the arc, in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half, Tennessee held their opponent to a 3-of-21 mark from the floor. Alabama, KenPom’s top-ranked offense in the country, missed all 13 of its 3-point attempts during that time against the stingy Tennessee defense.
Zeigler scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and paced Tennessee with four assists in the game. Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht tallied 13 points, his second-lowest total in SEC play, as he battled foul trouble, but hit a key jump-shot with 2:30 left to triple the lead.
Junior forward Jonas Aidoo, who played only 23 minutes after committing two fouls in the first five minutes of the contest, finished with 12 points-all but two came in the second half-and seven rebounds.
Fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James, who tipped out a missed free throw in the closing seconds leading to Zeigler’s game-clinching shots at the line, totaled 11 points and a season-best 13 rebounds, one shy of his career high, to lead all players. The Charleston, S.C., native shot 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Jordan Gainey added nine points and fellow junior guard Jahmai Mashack posted eight to go along with a season-high-tying six rebounds.
Alabama senior guard Mark Sears led all scorers with 22 points, but Tennessee limited him to a 2-of-8 clip from long range. Graduate student guard Aaron Estrada had 16 points and eight rebounds, while senior forward Nick Pringle compiled 13 points and a team-best nine boards.
In a matchup of two vaunted offensive attacks, both sides shot under 40 percent on the night, but Tennessee took three more 3-pointers, all of which were makes, as it went 12-of-40 (30.0 percent) and allowed a 9-of-37 (24.3 percent). The Volunteers also had a 15-10 advantage in second-chance points.
With the loss, Alabama fell to 20-9 overall and 12-4 in the SEC.
Up next
Tennessee has is its road finale and its third of four straight top-20 matchups, as it travels to Columbia, S.C., where Wednesday at 7 p.m. it faces No. 18 South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena, live on ESPN2.
[ad_2]
Source link
