As The Game Turned: It will be a moment that will live long in Derek Reese’s memory.
Kevin Punter had just knocked down a triple on to cut the Bulldogs lead to two at 63-61 with 2:20 left in regulation. After trailing the majority of the second half, The Vols had an opportunity to tie the game in the last two minutes.
After Richardson partially blocked I.J Ready’s shot, Tennessee got the stop on defense it needed. With the crowd in Thompson-Boling on its feet, Richardson dribbled the ball up the court and called an offensive set.
Punter tried to put his team in the lead when he attempted another 3-pointer from nearly the same spot where he drained his last triple.
This time, however, his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim. But Reese snagged the offensive rebound, giving the Vols another offensive possession and another opportunity to tie the game.
With one minute remaining in the game, Reese recognized he had a driving lane and drove hard to the basket.
The junior raised the arm holding the basketball above his head and in a quick motion threw his arm down in the direction of the basket, attempting a one-hand dunk that would have sent the orange-clad crowd into a frenzy.
It proved to be a mistake.
When Reese’s arm and the rim came into contact, the ball bounced out of the basket and landed in the hands of Fred Thomas. Thomas capitalized on the transition opportunity and delivered the dagger to the Vols.
Thomas, who scored 22 points on five-of-seven shooting, made the layup and drew the foul, giving the Bulldogs a 65-61 lead with 52 seconds remaining.
The crowd watched in stunned silence when Thomas went completed the 3-point play. It was as if someone had gut-punched every member in the crowd at the same time.
The five-point swing would prove detrimental for the Vols as the Bulldogs defeated the Vols, 71-66, on Tuesday night.
Head coach Donnie Tyndall, however, neglected to chastise Reese for the miss slam, but instead said the Orlando, Florida native’s blunder was just another missed opportunity to convert a close look at the rim.
“I thought he attacked the rim. I will live with that,” Tyndall said. “He is trying to dunk a ball off a dribble penetration and we will take that every time. If it goes down it is a tie game with a minute or so to go and you have a chance to win. Again that is an example of a chip right around the goal that we didn’t convert.”
Reese’s teammate also offered support.
“You got to cheer him up,” Punter said. “There is no need to get down on him, it’s bad enough to miss dunks. Everybody else is probably going to get mad. But for us, as a unit, we kept his spirit high and on to the next play.”
Hot Topic- The Bulldogs entered Tuesday’s night contest ranked last in the SEC in 3-point shooting percentage, averaging 30.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Against the Vols, The Bulldogs played a different tune from beyond the arc.
Mississippi State went 8-of-11 from the perimeter in its victory against Tennessee, with Craig Sword and Thomas both hitting four triples in the game.
“We have to do a better job of getting the corners covered,” Richardson said. “I think they were hurting from the corners real bad today.”
In a three-minute span in the second half, the Bulldogs knocked down three consecutive triples, turning a tie game into a 7-point lead.
“It makes your team kind of drop your head and get down a little bit,” Tyndall, “Then it gives (Mississippi State) a great deal of confidence on the road. They are able to answer the bell if you will.”
Spotlight- When Richardson recorded his fifth personal foul with four seconds to go, the fans remaining at Thompson-Boling gave a standing ovation for the season as he approached the Tennessee bench.
The fans were applauding what might have been Richardson’s best game in his career.
The Edmond, Oklahoma native recorded a career-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting. At times in the second, Richardson single-handedly kept Tennessee in the basketball game.
Yet Tyndall observed that Richardson still did not play a perfect game.
“I always talk about field goals made and attempted field goals. I hope what Josh is looking at is that he only had one rebound and one steal in 39 minutes and turned it over seven times,” Tydnall said. “It doesn’t mean that he didn’t play hard. It doesn’t mean he didn’t play well. We don’t get hung up on field goal made and field goal attempted. It is those other numbers.”
