Nate Ament scored 10 of his career high-tying 23 points in the two overtime periods to lead No. 24 Tennessee to an 87-82 victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
The final margin of victory represented the largest lead of the game for the Volunteers (12-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), who trailed most of the game. Tennessee didn’t grab its first lead until 5:29 remained in regulation.
Texas A&M (13-4, 3-1) had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 18 points and five assists for the Vols, while Bishop Boswell finished with 13 points and 11 boards, and Felix Okpara contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Vols enjoyed a 60-35 rebounding advantage.
Jacari Lane led the Aggies with 20 points and nine assists, and Pop Isaacs had 16 points and six rebounds. Ruben Dominguez finished with 15 points and Rashaun Agee scored 11 points and collected nine rebounds.
There were eight lead changes in the final 5:29 of regulation. Ament and Boswell each made one of two free throws in the closing 13 seconds of regulation to tie the game at 71 and force the first overtime.
In the first OT, Ament had a field goal and two free throws to account for Tennessee’s points. His shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim and the game went to a second OT.
The Aggies briefly took the lead at 79-77 in the second extra period on a 3-pointer by Isaacs, but the Vols tied the game 29 seconds later on an Ament bank shot. Jaylen Carey’s putback with 1:14 remaining put Tennessee up 83-80, and the Vols used three free throws in the final 12 seconds — two by Ament, one by Carey — to seal the win.
Tennessee struggled shooting in the first half. The Vols had one stretch midway through the half when they missed nine straight shots, which became 13 misses in 15 attempts. The poor shooting created an 11-point deficit (26-15) with 6:47 remaining.
The Vols recovered to put together a 10-2 run late in the half and trim the Texas A&M advantage to 28-27. Tennessee trailed 34-30 at the break after shooting 29% from the floor, including 3 of 15 from long range.
The Aggies didn’t shoot much better (36.7%) in the first half but made seven 3-pointers on 21 attempts.
–Field Level Media
