As the game turned: With 10:50 remaining in the game, Bruce Pearl looked poised to lead his Auburn team to victory against Tennessee.

The former Tennessee head coach had just witnessed Antoine Mason knock down a triple to temporarily silence the crowd and give Auburn a 52-49 lead.

At the time, the Tigers were 7-of-12 from the 3-point line, were showing no signs of intimidation playing in front of a raucous crowd at Thompson-Boling-announced at 18439- and were exuding confidence during every possession.

In the following minutes, however, Tennessee ensured that Pearl’s return to Knoxville would not result in triumphant victory.

After Mason’s triple, the Vols went on an 11-0 run in a three-minute span that gave them the necessary separation to outlast the Tigers 71-63 Saturday in Knoxville.

“We just started playing harder,” Josh Richardson said. “We started playing like we know how to and pressuring them a little bit more and it swung in our favor.”

Tennessee’s run began with defense and an offensive rebound.

Junior college transfer Kevin Punter started the run with a steal, and while that play led to a missed layup from Richardson, junior forward Derek Reese snatched the offensive rebound and put the ball off the glass to cut the Auburn lead to one.

Free throws from Richardson and Tariq Owens gave Tennessee a 55-52 lead with 9:52 to go. Later, Punter nailed a trey from the corner that gave the Vols their first two-possession lead since early in the second half.

While Auburn never allowed Tennessee to run away after the 11-0 run, the Vols made just enough plays to prevent the Tigers from threatening to retake the lead.

Hot Topic: It only took one glance towards Auburn’s bench to see the significance of Saturday’s contest.

As Bruce Pearl traveresed the same sidelines he once had for six seasons — this time in a navy blue blazer, not an orange one — for the first time since 2011, a stir of emotions brewed within Thompson-Boling Arena.

Some fans booed, but most cheered.

“We lived here for nine years, and I think it was a really special time in Tennessee basketball history and the vast majority of what we did was really good,” Pearl said. “It was great. It was a nice reception.”

After the Tigers were downed by the Vols, Pearl had watery eyes in his postgame television interview with ESPN as the Tennessee Waltz played in the background.

His son, Steven, had tears flowing outside the Auburn locker room.

But for Pearl, it could have been much worse.

“I am really glad it was an early game and I didn’t have all day to sit around and think about it,” Pearl said. “Next thing you know it was here, so I think God blessed us with that.”

But even with all the emotions that were involved, it wasn’t an event that Pearl was loathing.

“I wasn’t dreading this,” Pearl said. “This was not something I wasn’t looking forward to.”

While both the fans and Pearl may have experienced emotions at his return to Knoxville, Donnie Tyndall claimed he didn’t make Pearl’s return a priority for his players.

In fact, Tyndall said he never even mentioned Pearl to his team.

“The way I approach every game is as nervous as you could ever be, and I feel like it is all on the line every single game. That is just how I am built,” Tyndall said. “It was probably more important to our fans because for the return of coach Pearl. We just approached this game as our players and our team versus his players and his team.”

However, Richardson said the players sensed the importance of the game for their coach.

“You want to win every game for a coach,” Richardson said. “But I mean us as a team, we knew it meant a little more for him.”

Spotlight: Armani Moore stole the game spotlight in a single moment.

With Tennessee leading 26-25 with 1:49 until halftime, Robert Hubbs pulled up and missed a jump shot.

In a quick moment, the crowd at Thompson-Boling witnessed Moore fly down the lane, elevate above basket, grab the ball with one hand, and authoritatively slam the ball to give the Vols a 28-25 lead.

“For me, it’s always about going for the offensive rebound,” Moore said. “That is one thing coach Tyndall really stresses. I saw an opportunity to go and attack the rebound and that is what I did. I ended up getting a dunk.”

Moore recorded a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, earning his fourth double-double of the season.

“Armani Moore was terrific. We had no answer for him.” Pearl said.

Pearl was not the only individual impressed with Moore’s performance.

“That dude plays hard,” Richardson said. “He is versatile. Everyone knows he came in as a point guard and now he is starting power forward for us.

“I made fun of him a lot for never dunking, so he probably is going to let me hear about it all night.”

Say something: Tyndall on drinking cup making an appearance as a fathead in the student section: “Someone just showed me a picture of it. I don’t hear or see much during the game, but I guess I better get that copyrighted.”

The other guys: KT Harrell led Auburn with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

Outside the box score: The loss to Tennessee marks the fourth straight loss for Auburn, which is the first time in Pearl’s coaching career he’s lost four games in a row.

By the numbers:

6: Both benches combined to score six points.

38: Richardson played 38 minutes in Tennessee’s victory over Auburn.

3: Trayvon Reed played only three minutes before being ejected. In those three minutes, he picked up a technical foul, a flagrant-two foul and another foul, while recording no other stats.