The applause that showered the court before Saturday’s contest against South Carolina left Josh Richardson smiling from ear to ear.
The ovation that preceded the final buzzer, however, flooded the senior with a very different emotion.
With 23.5 seconds remaining, Richardson began his final walk to Tennessee’s bench, and those who remained rose to their feet and cheered as he neared the sideline with tears in his eyes and his face buried in his jersey.
Moments later, Richardson’s final regular season home game came to end with South Carolina celebrating a 60-49 victory that snapped the Volunteers’ 15-game winning streak against the Gamecocks, as well as their three-game winning streak on Senior Day.
“My mind just started racing and I was just thinking that it would be the last time I’d ever step off the court here,” Richardson said, “It just sucks to leave with my last game here being a loss.”
The glee surrounding the pre-tip festivities began fading shortly after Tennessee (15-15, 7-11 SEC) jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the first 4:34 of the game. From there, South Carolina (15-15, 6-12) proceeded to reel off a 21-4 run over the next 7:22 to give itself a 12-point lead.
Over the next 4:02, the Vols put together a 7-0 run to draw within five, but watched as the Gamecocks used a 10-0 run to close out the half and halt any momentum UT had nearing the intermission.
“We started the game pretty well,” Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall said. “We drove it well against their man-to-man, but when they went to the zone, we did not drive the basketball enough.
“We settled for jump shots that didn’t go in at a high enough percentage, and you are not going to beat quality teams when you settle for jump shots.”
After shooting just 35 percent from the floor in the first half, things did not get any better for the Vols in the second half, where they made just nine of their 20 shot attempts (.360).
Nonetheless, Tennessee had a chance to crawl back into the game.
With the Vols in the midst of an 11-0 run that turned an 18-point deficit into a 47-38 ballgame, Devon Baulkman stepped to the free throw with a chance to make it a two-possession game after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer.
The junior guard only sank one.
Several possessions later, junior guard Kevin Punter took a trip to the charity strip in a similar situation, only to have the same result: 1-for-3.
The four misses at the line all but sealed Tennessee’s loss, spoiling Richardson’s Senior Day.
Yet, his final memory at Thompson-Boling Arena is not one he will easily cast aside.
“It’s something players never forget,” Richardson said. “I don’t think it’s completely sunk in yet, but I know I definitely won’t forget it.”
Saturday’s loss to South Carolina solidifies Tennessee as the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament, where they will face Vanderbilt, who will be the No. 7 seed based off tiebreakers, in Nashville on Thursday at 7 p.m.
During the regular season, the Vols and Commodores split their series, with each team winning on the road.
“I’m just happy to get another opportunity to play,” Richardson said. “Playing a team like Vanderbilt, we should all be able to wake up for that. They are a good team and we’ve had two good games against them this year.
“The third one should be fun.”
