No. 8 Tennessee rallies past No. 4 Kentucky
So-so player who became hero: “I believe in myself. My teammates believe in me. When the ball left my hands, I knew it was good.”
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Tennessee’s Lamonte’ Turner picked a perfect time to snap out of his shooting slump.
Turner sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left as No. 8 Tennessee rallied to beat No. 4 Kentucky 82-78 in a Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal thriller Saturday. Before making that shot, Turner had gone 8 of 52 from 3-point range over his last 10 games and 1 of 19 over his last five contests.
“Big moments like that, man, I thrive on those moments,” Turner said. “I always believe in myself. My teammates always believe in me. When it left my hands, I knew it was good.”
The third-seeded Volunteers (29-4) trailed by eight with less than three minutes left before rallying to advance to a championship matchup Sunday with No. 22 Auburn, the tournament’s fifth seed. Auburn beat Florida 65-62 in the other semifinal.
One way or another, this tournament will have an unfamiliar champion. Tennessee hasn’t won this event since 1979 and Auburn earned its lone SEC Tournament crown in 1985. The Vols also are chasing their first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in program history.
Kentucky’s chances for a fifth straight SEC Tournament title vanished when Tennessee closed the game on an 18-6 run.
Tennessee took a 75-74 lead on a Grant Williams 3-pointer from in front of the Vols’ bench with 1:31 left. Kentucky (276) went back in front with 1:06 remaining when PJ Washington delivered a putback of his own miss.
Admiral Schofield missed a 3-pointer on Tennessee’s next possession, but Williams got the rebound and called timeout with 38.5 seconds left. The Vols worked the ball to Turner, who buried a 3-point attempt from behind the top of the key.
Although Turner had been struggling up to that point, he has a reputation for delivering clutch shots and made a goahead 3-pointer in the final minute of a victory at Kentucky last season.
“He’s Lamonte’ Turner – he has ice in his veins,” Williams said. “We have no doubt in our minds that he’s going to be able to take and make that shot no matter if he’s shooting zero for 60 the next four weeks. I don’t want that to happen, but we have faith he’ll knock them down. We know what type of shooter he is.”