University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
4-3
Butler
8-2
Richardson, Vols Upset #15 Butler, 67-55
December 14, 2014 | Men's Basketball
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --Josh Richardson scored 18 of his season-high 20 points in the second half and Kevin Punter added a career-high 18 points to lead Tennessee to a 67-55 upset win over No. 15 Butler on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The win marked Tennessee's (4-3) first win over a ranked opponent since taking down then-No. 8 Florida, 64-58 on Feb. 26, 2013.
Richardson scored 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and also had three rebounds and three assists. It was Richardson's first 20-point game since he dropped 26 on Mercer on March 23, 2014, in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Punter scored 18 on 7-of-10 shooting and added four rebounds and one assist.
Armani Moore hit some key shots late in the game and finished with nine points and eight boards.
Butler fell to 8-2 with the loss. The Bulldogs shot just 33.3 percent from the field and Tennessee held them to 26.1 percent shooting in the second half (6-of-23). Kellen Dunham scored a team-high 16 points, going 4-of-11 from long distance. Kelan Martin scored 13 points and Kameron Woods hauled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
Derek Reese made a big three-pointer from up top with 2:10 left to make UT's lead 61-55 and a Richardson hit a jumper a minute later to give the Vols an eight-point lead. Tennessee closed out the game from the free-throw line, connecting on 4-of-5 in the final minute.
Moore swished home two free throws to give the Vols a six-point advantage with 3:04 remaining, but Butler answered immediately when Andrew Chrabascz hit a 3-pointer from the left corner.
Tennessee took command of the game in the final seven minutes. Moore made a spin move in the paint for a layup to give Tennessee a 50-49 lead with 6:15 on the clock. Punter made a free throw and drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to ignite the crowd and push UT's lead to 54-49 with 4:42 left.
Richardson's hot second-half shooting countered the Butler offense, which came back to life midway through the second half. Richardson hit a jumper with 11:27 draw UT to within 40-39 and connected on another jumper two minutes later to bring the Vols to within 46-45. Tennessee tied the game once again a 48-48 when Moore converted a three-point play with 7:28 left.
UT seized control of the game with a 12-0 run early in the second half. Tennessee drew to within 37-35 when Punter drove under the basket for a reverse layup. Two minutes later Reese's put-back on a fast break knotted the game at 37-37 with 13:57 remaining.
Richardson took over two minutes into the second half. After Butler had pushed its lead to 37-25 coming out of the break, Richardson eight-straight points to bring Tennessee back to within four. Moore stole an inbounds pass and Richardson drilled a 12-footer from the left side to bring UT to within 37-31. Richardson then stole pass at midcourt and took it to the hoop for a layup to pull the Vols to within 37-33 by the first media timeout of the second half.
Butler used a 15-6 run over the final nine minutes of the first half to take a 34-25 lead into halftime. Dunham and Martin had 11 points and 10 points, respectively to lead the Bulldogs in the first half. Butler dominated the glass in the first half with a 24-12 rebounding advantage. Punter led Tennessee with six first-half points.
The Vols evened the game at 17-17 when Devon Baulkman hit a 3-pointer with 10:06 remaining in the first half.
UT started the game with a 4-0 lead after Punter hit a pair of jumpers on UT's first two possessions. Butler's offense responded and the Bulldogs took an 8-6 lead with on a 3-pointer by Dunham at the 16:04 mark. Tennessee and Butler traded buckets through the first 10 minutes and the Bulldogs led 17-12 by the second media timeout.
Tennessee will next face NC State on Dec. 17 in Raleigh, N.C. The game will be televised on ESPN2. UT returns to Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 19 to host Tennessee Tech.
