KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Tennessee men’s basketball returned home on Saturday, looking to expel the sour taste left by Wednesday’s last-second loss at Vanderbilt.
Instead, the Vols suffered the same fate – a buzzer-beating loss, this time at the hands of Missouri, 86-85.
The Tigers, one of the top offensive teams in the SEC, poured in 44 first-half points and led the Big Orange by 12 points at the break.
Mizzou’s lead ballooned to as many as 17 points before UT turned things around. A flurry of three-pointers from Tyreke Key and Santiago Vescovi erased the deficit, as the Vols took their first second half lead with 7:41 to play.
The Vols pumped the lead up to six points multiple times, but the Tigers hung around and found themselves trailing by two points with just four seconds to play.
Vescovi had a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach, but the senior left the first shot short. The second attempt was waved off due to a lane violation on UT’s Tobe Awaka.
On the ensuing inbound, Mizzou’s Deandre Gholston caught a pass on the run and moved quickly into the front court before launching a three-pointer that dropped into the basket as time expired.
Key scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half for the Vols in defeat. Vescovi tallied 16 points and five rebounds, while Zakai Zeigler notched eleven points and ten assists before fouling out of the contest.
Gholston scored 18 points in his heroic performance, but the Tigers were paced by Kobe Brown’s 21 points and five boards.
The visitors also managed a crucial 19 points off ten Tennessee turnovers on the evening.
Tennessee (19-6, 8-4 SEC) returns to action against the top team in the league, Alabama, on Wednesday. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m.
