NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The fifth-seeded University of Tennessee men’s basketball team trailed No. 12-seeded Auburn by as many as 11 points, including by 10 with under 11 minutes to go, but used late a 20-0 run to come all the way back to register a 72-62 victory Thursday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.
No. 25/RV Tennessee (22-10, 11-7 SEC) got a team-high 27 points, including 17 in those final 11 minutes, from freshman forward Nate Ament, in his return from a right leg injury, to advance to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
After the Volunteers scored seven of the opening nine points, Auburn (17-16, 7-11 SEC) rattled off a 13-0 spurt in 3:17 to claim a 15-7 advantage with 13:36 on the timer. The surge reached 16-2 and the Tigers went ahead 18-9 with 11:47 left in the first frame, but Tennessee then forced eight misses in a row and got the margin down to three.
However, Auburn countered with 13 of the next 15 points to go up by a game-best 11, 29-18, with 3:12 to go before the intermission. The Volunteers trimmed the deficit to seven, 32-25, at the close of the half. Both sides shot under 38.0 percent overall and 36.0 percent from 3-point range in the initial 20 minutes, but the Tigers logged a 10-2 edge in second-chance points and a 7-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford started the second stanza with his fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon to stretch the Auburn lead back to 10. The Volunteers got within six on four occasions, but Auburn went twice back up by 10.
Tennessee then responded with 20 consecutive points, the first eight and three more of which came from Ament, in just 6:17 to go ahead by 10, 61-51, with 3:56 to play. The Volunteers held Auburn without a point for 6:36, as it missed seven consecutive shots and committed three turnovers.
The Tigers closed within five, 66-61, with 57 seconds to go, but Tennessee connected on all six of its free throws the rest of the way to ice the win, with the final differential tying its largest of the day.
In addition to his team-best point total, Ament paced the victors in rebounds (eight), assists (four) and blocks (three), the latter of which set a career best. The Second Team All-SEC designee added a steal, plus went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc to match his career high in makes.
Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 15 points, three assists and a game-best three steals in the win. Junior forward Jaylen Carey posted nine points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Pettiford led all scorers with 28 points, all but nine of which came in the opening 21 minutes. He shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-10 beyond the arc, but the Volunteers did claim five turnovers from him.
Senior forward Keyshawn Hall had 10 points for Auburn, but Tennessee held the Third Team All-SEC performer to 4-of-14 shooting, including a 1-of-6 tally from long range.
Overall, the Volunteers’ stingy defense limited the Tigers to 35.0 percent (21-of-60) shooting from the field, including to a 26.9 percent (7-of-26) ledger on 3-point attempts. They also amassed an 18-7 edge in bench points in the win.
Tennessee will be back in action Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET against No. 22 Vanderbilt, the tournament’s fourth seed, in a quarterfinal matchup at Bridgestone Arena, live on ESPN.
