Re-Turner comes through for No. 5 Tennessee Vols
After Tennessee’s basketball win over Georgia Tech last week, coach Rick Barnes noted that it was the first time the Volunteers really had missed junior guard Lamonte Turner, who had been out due to a shoulder injury.
Back Wednesday against Louisville, Turner made his presence felt — eventually.
After a slow first half, Turner hit three second-half 3-pointers in the Vols’ 92-81 semifinal win in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, setting up a clash at 9 tonight on ESPN2 between the fifth-ranked Vols (4-0) and second-ranked Kansas (4-0) at the Barclays Center. The Jayhawks defeated Marquette 77-68 in the later semifinal, outscoring the Golden Eagles 39-21 in the second half.
“I thought Lamonte played good,” Barnes told reporters after the game. “I think the guys were excited. He pressed a little bit, took a couple of shots he shouldn’t — one he certainly shouldn’t have taken — but he made a couple of big ones.”
Turner was 1-for-3 in the first half, getting a steal and a layup for his only points of the half. He had 11 points in the second half, with each of his 3s coming at a crucial time. Foul trouble had caused the Cardinals to switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense, and Turner made 3s on consecutive possessions, breaking a 60-all tie with 11:58 to play and one to break a 63-all tie with 11:09 to go.
His final 3 came with 6:19 to play and was part of a 17-2 Tennessee run that put the game away.
“I just wanted to play through my teammates,” Turner told reporters postgame. “In the first half I was very quiet, I wanted to get into the flow of the offense. Once I started to feel comfortable, I started taking shots.”
Senior Admiral Schofield and junior Grant Williams each eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark in the first half of Wednesday’s win. Williams, who finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks, became the 49th player in program history to surpass 1,000. Schofield, who had 20 points and six rebounds, then became the 50th.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
Grand duo