University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
11-5 (3-1)
Missouri
7-10 (1-3)
Gritty Vols Post 59-51 Win At Missouri
January 17, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2015
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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Tennessee won for the seventh time in eight games, grinding past Missouri, 59-51, on Saturday night. Junior Armani Moore had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Vols to their second SEC road victory in as many chances this season. Tennessee is now 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the SEC.
Missouri fell to 7-10 overall and 1-3 in the league. Namon Wright led the Tigers in scoring with 13 points.
Tennessee's trademark defense was once again stout throughout, as the Vols limited Missouri to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor.
Kevin Punter returned to the starting lineup and tallied 12 points. Derek Reese scored 10 and also grabbed eight rebounds. Senior Josh Richardson had eight, leaving him seven shy of 1,000 for his career. Richardson had a well-rounded game with five rebounds, four assists and two emphatic blocked shots.
When the Vols most-needed their defense, it came up big, forcing turnovers on three consecutive possessions that led to Tennessee baskets tipping a 46-46 tie game in UT's favor with less than four minutes remaining.
Moore's hard-fought layup with 3:12 put the Vols up 48-46 off a Tremaine Isabell miscue -- that proved to be the basket that gave the Vols the lead for good. Reese finished his own putback, and a Robert Hubbs III dunk gave the Vols a 52-46 lead with 1:50 remaining. All three baskets were the result of turnovers by the Tigers, with Moore coming up with steals twice.
Tennessee's free-throw shooting was sensational, as the Vols shot 18-of-20 in the game, including 7-of-8 in the final 1:11 to secure the victory.
Missouri rallied back from an eight-point deficit thanks to strong 3-point shooting. The Tigers hit three treys in the span of three minutes to take a 44-43 lead with six minutes left in the game. After not playing in the first half, Isabell connected on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 41 and then Wes Clark's triple gave the Tigers their first lead, at 44-43, since they were up 21-19 with about four minutes left in the first half.
Gant's layup extended the Tigers' spurt to 13-4 and lead to 46-43 with 5:06 left in the game.
Punter knocked down a 3-pointer for the Vols to tie the game at 46 all with 4:48 left.
After a tight first half where neither team led by more than two possessions, the Vols built a lead of eight with less than 14 minutes left in the game as Devon Baulkman made a pair of free throws. That gave Tennessee a 37-29 lead with 13:53 remaining.
The teams were within four points for the entire first half, with the Vols holding a 26-24 lead at intermission. The teams were tied six times, and the lead changed hands six times in the first half, as neither team was able to pull away.
Tennessee returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 20, as the Vols travel to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks at 9 p.m. ET. That game airs on ESPNU and can be heard on the Vol Network.
