2nd-half surge lifts Vols past Vandy
Pick a number, any number. They all seem to be adding up quite nicely for fifth-ranked Tennessee.
Senior guard Santiago Vescovi and freshman forward Julian Phillips scored 15 points apiece Tuesday night as the Volunteers won their 25th consecutive game inside Thompson-Boling Arena and their 11th straight against state-rival Vanderbilt with a 77-68 downing of the Commodores.
Tennessee erased its first halftime deficit at home this season with a 14-2 run that was highlighted by 3-pointers from Tyreke Key and Zakai Zeigler. When Olivier Nkamhoua made a pair of free throws with 14:47 remaining, the Vols had their first double-digit lead at 51-41.
A Vescovi 3-pointer with 5:20 to play extended Tennessee’s advantage to 69-54 and all but clinched its 14-2 start to the season that includes a 4-0 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
Vandy (8-8, 1-2) was led by 18 points from 7-footer Liam Robbins.
A Phillips layup 14 seconds into the game put the Vols up 2-0, and a Vescovi 3-pointer and some stellar defense helped them stake a 7-0 advantage at the first media stoppage. Vandy would battle back to tie the game at 15 on three Noah Shelby free throws, but Tennessee then countered with a 9-0 run that was capped by a Key 3-pointer at the 9:11 mark.
The Commodores trailed 37-32 before closing the half on a 7-0 run, tying the game for a second time on a Myles Stute 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining and grabbing a 39-37 lead on a Jordan Wright layup as time expired. Of Vandy’s 39 first-half points, a staggering 36 came from its bench.
Tennessee will next play Saturday at noon (ESPN) against visiting Kentucky, which had its 28-game winning streak at Rupp Arena halted Tuesday night in a 71-68 loss to former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks.