LAS VEGAS – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team opened action at the Players Era Men’s Championship with a commanding 85-60 victory Monday morning over Rutgers at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie poured in a career-best 32 points in just 29 minutes for No. 17/16 Tennessee (6-0) in a game it led by as many as 36 points and trailed for just 14 seconds.
The Volunteers used a 12-3 spurt in 3:38 to build an early 21-10 advantage at the 10:27 mark of the first half, at which time Gillespie already had 14 points. Shortly thereafter, freshman forward Nate Ament went on a personal 9-2 run in just 55 seconds, giving him 14 points and putting the team ahead by 19, 41-22, with 5:19 on the timer.
Tennessee continued its offensive onslaught down the stretch, connecting on eight of its final nine field-goal attempts—it made seven in a row—to build a season-best 26-point advantage at the break. The lone miss was tipped in by redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella just moments before the buzzer.
The Volunteers, who closed the half on a 7-0 run in the last 63 seconds, got 23 first-half points from Gillespie on 8-of-12 shooting, 17 from Ament on a 6-of-9 clip and eight apiece from Estrella and senior forward Felix Okpara. The team shot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) in the first stanza, including 61.5 percent (8-of-13) beyond the arc, as well as 90.9 percent (10-of-11) at the line. Meanwhile, Rutgers (4-2) scored a third of its first-half points at the free-throw line, where it went 10-of-15.
Tennessee extended its cushion up to 29, 67-38, on a 3-pointer by Gillespie with 13:34 remaining. That gave the Greeneville, Tenn., native 28 points, already a new career best. Another 3-pointer by Gillespie just 88 ticks later upped his mark to 31, gave him six makes—on just eight attempts—from long range for the first time as a collegian and put the Volunteers ahead by 30 points, 70-40.
Six more Tennessee points followed, making it a 9-0 surge in 3:02, to push the lead to 36 with 9:05 to go. The Scarlet Knights never got closer than 25 the rest of the way.
Gillespie’s 32-point performance came on 11-of-20 shooting, as he tied a career high in made field goals. He went 6-of-10 from beyond the arc to set a new career best in long-range makes, plus chipped in four assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block.
Ament finished with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. He went 7-of-14 from the floor and set a new career best in 3-point makes with a 4-of-6 ledger.
Estrella had 10 points, shooting 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line. Okpara matched him in the scoring column, finishing 4-of-6 on field goals and tying for the game lead with seven rebounds. He added a game-best three blocks to eclipse 200 as a collegian. Sophomore guard Bishop Boswell led all players with a career-high five assists and a career-best three steals.
Freshman guard Harun Zrno paced Rutgers with 14 points, finishing 3-of-5 from deep and 5-of-7 at the line. Redshirt junior guard Darren Buchanan Jr., had 13 points, while sophomore forward Dylan Grant added 10.
Despite missing its last four field-goal attempts, Tennessee shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) in the win. It posted a season-best 50.0 percent (11-of-22) ledger from beyond the arc, as well.
At the other end, Tennessee held Rutgers to a 36.5 percent (19-of-52) clip from the field and a 31.6 percent (6-of-19) ledger from 3-point range, as well as to zero fast-break points.
The Volunteers continue Players Era Men’s Championship action Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET when they face No. 3/2 Houston at MGM Grand Garden Arena, live on TNT and HBO Max.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
