A hot February day in Tennessee came to an abrupt end late Tuesday night in Columbia, Missouri. The Vols lost 73-69, ending a four-game winning streak that saw them win eight of their last nine games.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie led Tennessee with 19 points and six assists. Despite having a tough shooting night (5-for-14), Nate Ament contributed 17 points. Felix Okpara had a great performance, scoring 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting and grabbing 8 rebounds.
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Tennessee is off to a fantastic start in the game. The Vols jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening minutes and looked to take control of the game.
Unfortunately, over the next 15 minutes, Missouri’s offense went into a drought midway through the first half and Missouri slowly tied the game. With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Ament hit a three-pointer from the corner to lead 21-12. With a minute left in the half, the Vols scored only three more points and suddenly fell behind 26-24. Amonte started a 5-0 spurt with a three-pointer, and Gillespie broke through and made a mid-range jumper from the corner, giving Tennessee a 29-26 lead at halftime.
But then, Missouri linebacker TO Barrett made an absolute impact for the Tigers. After averaging just 8.1 points per game last game, he scored 28 points and was unstoppable in the second half as Tennessee’s defense had nothing to do with him.
Ironically, Barrett didn’t even attempt a shot from beyond the arc, surprising Tennessee with his drive and mid-range jumper. Two-pointers and four free throws did the damage 12-18. Mark Mitchell, another Tigers guard who scored 23 points, also didn’t make a single 3-pointer (0-1). It’s rare these days that you see two guards scoring so much without making any 3-pointers.
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But they were lethal, and the Vols found themselves trailing 64-58 in the final seconds heading into a timeout with less than four minutes to play. With two minutes left in the game, Gillespie hit a three-pointer and Tennessee chased the score to two points at 67-65. Unfortunately, his next attempt hit the rim, and Barrett made it a two-pointer with a minute to go. After a long possession, Ament scored, but with less than 30 seconds left, Tennessee had to foul and the Tigers made free throws to end the game.
It’s a tough game, but Tennessee has a chance to host Alabama on Saturday, with kickoff set for 6:00 PM ET on ESPN.
