NASHVILLE – Nate Ament was supposed to be the deciding factor for Tennessee basketball in its third matchup with Vanderbilt on March 13.
Instead, the No. 5 Vols (22-11) fell short to the No. 4 Commodores (25-7) in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament, 75-68, at Bridgestone Arena.
Ament was Tennessee’s savior in its second-round win over Auburn, but in his second game back from injury, he couldn’t find the same offensive success. The freshman forward was 1-of-13 from the floor, and 0-of-5 from 3, for 12 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two assists.
The Vols defense couldn’t handle Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Tyler Tanner added 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.
No. 4 Vanderbilt will play No. 1 Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals on March 14. Tennessee awaits its seeding for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.
After Tennessee’s win over Auburn, Ja’Kobi Gillespie called Ament the Vols “closer.” The freshman is trying his best on an off night. He hit his first jump shot at the 5:55 mark and made another pair of free throws for 10 points, and has grabbed 10 rebounds. Tennessee trails 65-62 with 4:09 remaining.
Nate Ament is 0-of-8 from the floor. He’s gotten fouled in repeat possessions and knocked down all four free throws. The Vols will need him to make his first shot soon as they trail 60-55 with eight minutes remaining.
The Commodores used a 6-0 burst to take their first lead of the second half. Ja’Kobi Gillespie fouled Chandler Bing on a breakaway layup for an and-one. Vanderbilt leads 49-48 with 11:51. The Vols could be leading, but they’ve shot a poor 4-of-12 from the free throw line.
Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles hasn’t missed a shot. He has a game-high 18 points and is 7-of-7 from the floor. Tennessee is hanging onto a 39-38 lead with 15:37 remaining.
Referees paused action to reset the game clock after it did not start when the ball was thrown in.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s last-second layup tied the game at 31 points heading into halftime. Gillespie leads the Vols with nine points. Tennessee is already up to 15 offensive rebounds, but it has only turned into 11 second chance points. The Vols are also 6-of-11 on layups.
Vanderbilt is 2-of-14 from the 3-point line. Part of the poor shooting performance is bad luck for the Commodores – their best shooters Tyler Tanner and Tyler Nickel are a combined 1-of-7. However, Tennessee keeps daring AK Okereke to shoot, and he keeps taking them. Okereke is 0-of-4 from long range and is 0-of-5 overall.
After playing well in his first game back from injury, star freshman Nate Ament has yet to make a shot against Vanderbilt. He’s 0-of-4 from the field and split a pair of free throws to open the game. He’s been involved in other areas with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Estrella was called for an offensive foul for clearing space on an offensive rebound. After a review, though, referees decided to flip the foul onto Vanderbilt’s Jalen Washington. The Vols capitalized with a Jaylen Carey layup.
SEC steals leader Tyler Tanner nearly nabbed an ill-advised pass from Nate Ament to Ja’Kobi Gillespie on the perimeter. Gillespie got firm hands on the ball before Tanner, who averages 2.5 steals per game, could punch it out. Tanner’s momentum took him out of the play while Gillespie stepped into a wide-open 3-pointer. Tennessee leads early, 6-2.
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Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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