Regulation and an extended period were not enough.
After 50 minutes of basketball, it was Tennessee basketball persevering. The Vols struggled with Bucky McMillan’s Texas A&M Aggies, but came away with the 87-82 win.
Nate Ament came through down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the overtime period.
It was an ugly win for a Vols (12-5, 2-2 SEC) team that shot 37% from the field and 25% from deep. They turned the ball over 19 times, but were lucky to win the rebound battle by 25.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie shot 5-for-19 from the floor with 18 points to aid Ament. He played 48 minutes before finally fouling out in the second overtime period. Gillespie, Ament and Bishop Boswell all played 40-plus minutes in the win.
Texas A&M (13-4, 3-1) led a majority of regulation, but a back-and-forth regulation finish favored overtime. Ultimately, Tennessee’s defense stepped up to force the Aggies to shoot 36% from the field while stealing 24 rebounds on the offensive end.
Troubles with ‘Bucky Ball’
Tennessee struggled with it in practice on Monday, and that translated over to the game on Tuesday.
The Vols failed to get shots to fall, and had been 4-for-18 from the field in the first 10 minutes of the half. That includes a stretch of 1-for-11 from the field, with multiple looks at the rim failing to fall. It also included a 0-for-7 mark from deep.
Texas A&M did not immediately press. It waited until a lead quickly surmounted before putting hefty pressure on the Vols at the baseline. When the time came to press, the ball was put in Nate Ament’s hands, and he failed to get the ball out while drawing a five-second violation on the baseline.
Ament compounded that with a turnover on Tennessee’s opening possession. He posted two turnovers and a five-second call within the first five minutes on the court — earning him a seat on the bench.
Troy Henderson then failed to get the ball in at the 8:51 mark, giving the ball back to A&M on another five-second call.
A steal off the inbounds pass by J.P. Estrella, fed up the floor to Gillespie, who knotted the game at 15-all.
Then it all went right back downhill.
Texas A&M drilled a three on the next possession and then forced another five-second call on the baseline. It drilled another three, taking a six-point lead right back. A turnover by Jaylen Carey led to another set of points, and the Aggies led by eight at the under-eight timeout.
The Aggies went on a 7-0 run without the ball leaving their half of the court. Two Ament turnovers — one being a five-second call — kept the ball on A&M’s side, and the Aggies scored on all three possessions they had.
Ament nearly had a third called with 4:52 left in the game, but he was rewarded with a timeout instead.
Run exchange highlights end of first half
Tennessee died by the run against Florida, and it looked like that would be the case against on Tuesday. Gillespie tied the game at 15-all with a layup, then the Aggies answered with an 11-0 run to go ahead 26-15.
The offense could not find a flow, shooting 29% from the floor in the first half on Tuesday, but it did receive a spark near the end of the first half by way of a 15-5 run that brought the margin as close as one.
They found success at the free-throw line, going 4-for-4 as part of their run.
A Bishop Boswell corner three off a second-chance rebound gave Tennessee its first deep make of the game. Gillespie added the second with a crossover at the top of the key, draining the bucket to make the score 28-27, and forced a timeout from Bucky McMillan with 3:07 left in the half.
Texas A&M took a 34-30 lead at the break.
Troy Henderson steps up
Rick Barnes admitted to his mistake of not playing Henderson in a loss at Arkansas.
Just a couple of games later, Henderson proved to be a difference-maker against Texas A&M. Though his action was limited, the impact was not. Henderson recorded 8 points and two steals in 22 minutes.
His first bucket came on a corner three, whilst his second bucket was converted on a tough layup at the rim. He added back-to-back steals on the defensive end. The second turned into a trip to the free-throw line for Bishop Boswell, which eventually gave Tennessee its first lead of the game.
A crucial mistake came when he fouled a 3-point shooter with 3:13 to go in a one-point game.
He made up for it with a huge 3-point basket off a cross-court feed by Boswell. Henderson drilled the shot from the wing, giving Tennessee a 69-68 lead with less than two minutes to go.
Double-overtime thriller
Gillespie missed the potential game-winning three at the end of regulation, and an overtime period was needed.
Both teams only scored a single basket in the first period and earned a pair of free throws for eight total points in five minutes. Tennessee held A&M scoreless for the first 3:15.
Ament missed at the buzzer brought forth a second period.
On its fifth chance to take a two-score lead, Tennessee finally cashed in. Carey cleaned up a Gillespie missed shot and put it back with the shot clock expiring to make it an 83-79 lead. That two-score lead was enough to seal the deal.
Tennessee returns to the court with a rivalry game against Kentucky on Jan. 17.
