Zakai Zeigler came off the bench to score 12 points and No. 7 Tennessee jumped out to an early lead before holding on for a 56-53 victory over No. 13 Maryland in the Hall of Fame Invitational on Sunday at New York.
The Terrapins, who trailed by 16 with 11:27 remaining, had a chance to tie, but Jahmir Young missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired.
Zeigler shot 5 of 13 from the field, including 2 of 5 from distance, to go along with three assists, while Tyreke Key added nine points and three rebounds.
Olivier Nkamhoua chipped in eight points and nine rebounds, while Julian Phillips finished with six points on 1-of-10 shooting to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Volunteers (9-1), who won their eighth straight game, shot 19 of 66 (28.8 percent) from the field, including 7 of 21 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range. Tennessee outrebounded the Terrapins 48-40.
Maryland (8-2), which dropped its second straight game, was led by Young, who finished with 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Donta Scott added nine points and eight rebounds, while Julian Reese finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
The Terrapins finished the game shooting 17 of 52 (32.7 percent) from the field and 2 of 24 (8.3 percent) from the arc. Maryland missed all eight of its 3-point attempts in the second half.
After the Volunteers took a 41-25 lead on Tobe Awaka’s layup with 11:27 remaining, the Terrapins responded with a 24-10 run to pull to within 51-49 after Ian Martinez split a pair of free throws with 3:31 to go.
Zeigler followed with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 54-49 before Nkamhoua’s free throw pushed the lead to six with 2:26 left
Hakim Hart made two layups to pull Maryland to within 55-53 with 24.6 seconds left. After Zeigler missed a free throw, Young missed a game-tying jumper with 11 seconds left, enabling Key to push the lead to 56-53 with a free throw with 7.7 seconds left.
Tennessee completely dominated the first half, jumping to a 17-5 lead following Zeigler’s layup with 10:04 left and later led by 21 en route to a 34-17 halftime advantage.
–Field Level Media
