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HomeSportsUT Vols Basketball falls late to Texas A&M Aggies, 92-88

UT Vols Basketball falls late to Texas A&M Aggies, 92-88

UT Athletics Department

Tennessee Volunteers - UT VolsKnoxville, TN The Thompson-Boling Arena magic looked for more than 37 minutes as if it would continue for another game for Tennessee, but a 13-1 run late in the second half led the No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies to a 92-88 win over the Volunteers on Saturday afternoon.

Tennessee led by eight points at halftime and as many as 13 in the second half. The advantage ranged from six to 10 points throughout the second period until the A&M run.

Detrick Mostella, who scored 11 points on the afternoon, had his 3-point attempt that would have given the Vols the lead with under 10 seconds left in the game rim out, sealing the win for A&M.

Tennessee Volunteers guard Robert Hubbs III (3) goes to the basket against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. (Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports)
Tennessee Volunteers guard Robert Hubbs III (3) goes to the basket against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. (Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports)

Mostella scored 11 points, one of six Volunteers in double figures. Kevin Punter Jr. led Tennessee with 19 points, 17 coming in the second half. Admiral Schofield scored 16, Shembari Phillips poured in a career-high 15, Devon Baulkman had 11 and Robert Hubbs III 10.

“The way we turned it over led to many baskets for them at the end. You can’t put the ball over your head against the zone, stand, and just stare down guys. We kept playing more east-to-west. We talked a lot about that at halftime, and we just didn’t make the plays we had to make,” stated Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes.

“We just can’t turn it over the way we did it. The way we turned the ball over is what really is disappointing. We were just throwing the ball into people’s arm’s length,” said Barnes.

Jalen Jones led the Aggies with 27 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:28 to play. Danuel House added 23, while Alex Caruso scored 13 and Tyler Davis 11.

“It is a tough loss. We have a good basketball team. We want to win, but we have to understand how to take care of the basketball. You’ve got to take care of the basketball, and the way we gave it back to them led to way too many easy baskets,” stated Barnes.

The Vols return to action Wednesday night at 7:00pm as they face the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, a game that can be seen on the SEC Network.

Home Win Streak Snapped

The loss was the first for the Vols at home this season, breaking an 8-0 start to the year. Tennessee’s eight-game home win streak was its longest since earning 10 straight victories spanning the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

Freshmen Explosion

The youth movement was in full effect on Saturday afternoon with Tennessee’s newcomers accounting for 31 points on the day, including 21 of UT’s 46 in the first half.

It was the highest scoring output for the Vol freshmen this season, surpassing the 24 scored against No. 18 Butler on December 12th. Schofield led the charge with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range, the third time in the last three games he has scored 16 points or more.

The Vols had two freshmen score in double figures in the same game for the first time this season with Schofield and the career-best 15 points from Phillips.

From Downtown

Tennessee hit 12 3-pointers on the afternoon, the second-highest total of the season. The Vols hit 13 against Gardner-Webb on November 22nd. Tennessee, who finished the game 12-of-27 from long range, have now made double-digit 3-pointers four times this season.

Up Next

The Vols travel to Athens to continue SEC play against Georgia on Wednesday, January 13th. Tip is set for 7:00pm and the game will air on the SEC Network. Tennessee is 56-15 all-time against the Bulldogs, including 33 wins in Athens.

Postgame Video

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYiQmVgmXwc[/youtube]

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