If it hadn’t happened yet, Jarnell Stokes has his official arrival at Tennessee.
    
Behind the freshman’s first career double-double, the Vols upset No. 13 Connecticut 60-57 Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
    
“I just kept pushing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Stokes said. “I just kept thinking that throughout the game. I really believe that, and I prayed.”
    
Stokes finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead UT (9-10, 1-3 SEC) to its second upset over a ranked opponent in two weeks. Cameron Tatum was Tennessee’s other double-digit scorer with 15.
    
It was Stokes’ first start in just his third game after graduating from high school in December and enrolling this semester. The 18-year-old has only practiced with the team since Jan. 9.
    
“I think any player would have butterflies before the game,” Stokes said. “I think it was a little more special for me because coming out of high school, from just working out by yourself to being in front of 20,000, that’s different. That definitely gave me more adrenaline.”
    
Junior Jeronne Maymon (eight points, seven rebounds) wasn’t surprised at all with Stokes’ rise.
    
“I see him every day in practice. We talk a lot, so I know what he’s capable of,” Maymon said. “He’s a go-getter. He’s exactly what we need on this team.”
    
UConn (14-5) has now lost four of its last six. Tennessee improved to 4-1 all time at Thompson-Boling against defending national champions.
   
 The game would have been in the bag if the Vols hadn’t struggled from the free-throw line — they shot 10-for-21. Stokes was 4-of-9. The Vols did, however, hit 4-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds.
    
The Vols boasted another stout defensive effort, holding UConn 15 points under its season average, only allowing the Huskies to shoot just 36.4 percent from the floor. It was just the 12th time in the past 163 games UConn has been held below 60 points.
    
“From a playing standpoint, I thought we did a good job defensively again,” UT coach Cuonzo Martin said. “We’ve gotten a lot better in that area and are taking pride in defending, holding a team like that with really good guards and physical bigs.
    
“This is the way Tennessee will defend as long as I’m a part of this program.”
   
 Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, who recruited Martin to play for him at UConn before he ended up at Purdue, was also impressed with the Vols defense and hustle.
    
“You can win a lot of games that way,” he said. “He (Martin) obviously has something going. They are a young team. Stokes was terrific today. Their team, though, was terrific. Their team stayed together, they ran their stuff and they were much more physical than we were in a game that was equally officiated.”
    
Sophomore Jeremy Lamb led all scorers with 23 points for the Huskies. Shabazz Napier added 18 points. UConn’s bench was held to zero points. UT’s scored 15.
    
A 3-pointer from Tatum just over a minute into the second half gave UT a 28-27 lead, which proved to be permanent. However, after starting the half on a 9-0 run, the Vols went on a six-minute scoring drought, making it a 34-33 at the 10:19 mark.
    
Tennessee led by as much as 10 in the final four minutes, but two different times in the final 30 seconds Napier 3-pointers made it a two-point game.
    
There were six lead changes in the first half. Neither team led by more than five points. UConn closed the half on a 9-4 run to take a 27-25 lead.
    
Saturday was the “We Back Pat” game in honor of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, who announced her diagnosis of early-onset dementia in August. A check was presented to the Pat Summitt Foundation for $55,000. The foundation aims to make grants to non-profit organizations to educate and promote awareness of Alzheimer’s, as well as support research.