The streak is over.
Tennessee basketball did what it needed to, putting a three-game skid to rest with an 83-62 win over No. 11 Louisville (9-2). Though the Cardinals were without freshman phenom Mikel Brown Jr., the Vols (8-3) gave the rest of the lineup fits — holding them to 38% shooting for the game while forcing 34 threes.
Jaylen Carey posted 10 points and six rebounds in the first half to lead a rather weak scoring attack, but then the tables turned over the final 20. Nate Ament put forth 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while Ja’Kobi Gillespie went for 23 points on 5-for-12.
14-2 first-half run gives Food City Center life
Bishop Boswell got the run started by taking a foul on a corner three. Though he shot 1-for-3 from the line, he answered with a steal on the inbounds pass that eventually found Ament for the score.
A Felix Okpara dunk, followed by a Jaylen Carey free throw, put the next three on the board. Then, J.P. Estrella, Carey and Boswell attacked the rim for three quick buckets to mount a 6-0 run in a matter of seconds. J’Vonne Hadley followed with a travel on the other end, and Pat Kelsey called a timeout as the crowd got heavily involved.
Carey came out of the timeout with a lob to Estrella, capping an 8-0 run, and 14-2 overall stretch that put Tennessee ahead 19-9 before the under-12 media timeout.
Tennessee proceeded to miss six of its next seven shots after the run, falling back down to planet Earth.
Ament, Gillespie quiet in first half, answer with volume
With 10 days off to sort the load management, it appeared the Vols implemented backseat roles for each Ament and Gillespie. Ament did not play the final 8:31 of the half due to foul trouble, while Gillespie did not make a shot after drilling a shot-clock-expiring triple in the opening minutes.
In the first half, Ament put up five shots and Gillespie tallied five. They combined for seven points on three makes — with both surrendering two fouls in the frame. That limited Ament to just nine minutes after his second foul occurred with 8:31 left in the half.
The two returned to the court together to begin the second half. And they took charge with added volume. Tennessee’s first six shots of the second half came from the hands of the two struggling stars.
Gillepie answered the bell with a corner three to open second-half scoring. Ament also tallied a quick bucket to get back on track. They exchanged four buckets on six shots before the under-16 timeout came about, and the Vols led 44-36.
Ament and Gillespie added 13 shots in the second half, totaling 29 points between the pair. It shows promise for two guys who struggled to stripe the netting at an efficient rate in the prior four games.
Quick 9-0 run puts distance between Vols, Cardinals
Out of the under-16 media timeout, Tennessee did not let the game slip away. Instead, it responded in strong fashion.
Gillespie drilled a wing three off a feed from Ament. On the following possession, Ament took a top-of-the-key triple that found the bottom of the basket. After another stop, Ament corralled the ball in front of his own bench — firing a cross-court pass to an open Ethan Burg.
He laced the 3-ball, and Kelsey wanted a timeout 1:06 after the media timeout. Tennessee led 54-38 due in part to the run.
Tennessee outscored Louisville 29-24 from that point on, and the Cardinals failed to come crawling back. The Vols’ nonconference gauntlet ends, and they’ll return with a buy game against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 21.
