Ja’Kobi Gillespie poured in 22 of his career-high 34 points in the first half, and No. 21 Tennessee recorded its first Southeastern Conference win by taming Texas 85-71 on Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Gillespie was exceptional on both ends of the court, hitting 12 of 18 from the floor, 5 of 8 from long range and all five free throws. The senior added five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
J.P. Estrella added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Volunteers (11-4, 1-1). DeWayne Brown II and Jaylen Carey had 10 points and four rebounds apiece.
Tennessee shot 52.7% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc. The Volunteers also held a 44-18 edge in paint points.
Tramon Mark had 20 points and five rebounds for the Longhorns (9-6, 0-2). Camden Heide totaled 16 points and four rebounds. Simeon Wilcher pitched in with 10 points.
Tennessee brought defensive intensity from the opening tip, getting three steals and a blocked shot to lead 11-5 at 15:39 on Gillespie’s layup and free throw to complete a three-point play. However, Wilcher drained a 3-pointer at 14:10 for the visitors’ first lead, 12-11.
After that back-and-forth stretch between the schools, the Volunteers found their game in the middle part of the half.
They took off on a 19-8 run over an 8:04 stretch for a 30-20 lead that ended with Brown making a layup off an assist from Nate Ament.
Then, Tennessee rode the hot hand of Gillespie to outscore Texas, 18-13, and hold a 48-33 advantage after Amari Evans’ tip-in at the buzzer.
The point guard was the driving force, netting 22 points including a pair of deep shots in the final two minutes as the Volunteers made 17 of 27 shots (63%) and held the Longhorns, who were led by Mark’s nine points, to 39.3% shooting (11 of 28).
In the second half, Felix Okpara’s successful tip at 18:31 lifted the lead to 54-33, but Texas sliced it to 60-45 on Chendall Weaver’s layup at 12:29. Heide and Mark hit treys to make it a game against at 61-51 with 10:34 left.
The Volunteers responded with the next seven points and maintained the double-digit lead the rest of the way to improve to 3-0 over two seasons of the Longhorns playing in the conference.
Tennessee took advantage of 16 Texas turnovers to score 27 points.
–Field Level Media
