Oxford, MS – Despite an efficient night from 3-point range and a solid effort on the defensive end, the 11th-ranked Tennessee Vols basketball team fell on the road to Ole Miss, 52-50, on Tuesday at The Pavilion.
The Vols (12-4, 5-4 SEC) shot 44 percent from behind the 3-point arc, but a second-half run from Ole Miss (9-8, 4-6 SEC) pushed the Rebels to their ninth win of the year.
The Vols were led in scoring for the fourth consecutive game by senior Yves Pons who scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting while knocking down two of his three attempts from 3-point land. Pons also pulled down four rebounds and recorded a steal.
Freshman Keon Johnson scored 11 points and reeled in four rebounds on the night while hitting multiple late free-throws to keep the Vols in it late.
Off the bench sophomore, Josiah-Jordan James put in 10 points, dropping in a trio of treys, grabbing six rebounds, and recording a block and a steal.
Tennessee controlled the early portions of the contest, jumping out to a 23-15 lead over the opening 12 minutes, with nine of those points coming on three 3-pointers from James.
Ole Miss held the Vols to just five points in the final eight minutes of the half as UT held the slim 28-23 edge heading into the halftime break.
UT opened the second half on a 10-4 run, extending its lead to 38-27 with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Ole Miss responded with a 19-4 run, spanning over nine minutes of game action to take a late, 46-42, advantage at the under-four-minute media timeout.
The Vols knotted the score at 46 apiece before the Rebels made a few buckets with less than two minutes to play to take a 51-46 advantage.
In the closing seconds, UT cut the Ole Miss lead to two points before James had a look at a buzzer-beating three that fell just short, cementing the night’s final score.
Box Score
Tennessee 50, Ole Miss 2
1 | 2 | F | |
---|---|---|---|
28 | 22 | 50 | |
23 | 29 | 52 |
Next Up For Tennessee Men’s Basketball
The Tennessee Vols basketball team remains on the road for a Saturday night, February 6th bout with SEC rival, Kentucky. The opening tip from Rupp Arena is slated for 7:00pm CT on ESPN.