Tennessee’s basketball clash with Alabama ended in a thrilling defeat as Alabama’s last-second plays sealed a 71-69 win, erasing the Vols’ early dominance.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 22 Tennessee basketball welcomed No. 17 Alabama to Knoxville for a top-25 rivalry matchup. Tennessee held a lead for the majority of this game, but lost it at the very end when the Crimson Tide made critical shots to win the game, 71-69.
The last time the Crimson Tide played in Food City Center, former Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack hit the “Mashack Miracle,” a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the game.
The Vols jumped out early to a five-point lead, and star point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie had three early steals, preventing Alabama from getting many shots off.
Gillespie led in points early with eight at the second media timeout, and made two of his three triple attempts.
But the Crimson Tide eventually found themselves down three at this point, gaining momentum and finding a rhythm on offense. The score was 14-11 with 11:58 left in the first half.
Star forward Nate Ament exited the game in the first half after an Alabama player fell on his right leg, and it bent backward while trying to reach for a loose ball.
At halftime, Tennessee led big 40-28. Gillespie led all scorers with 15-points at the break to go along with a game-high seven steals.
However, Alabama came crawling back early in the second half. The Crimson Tide made it a four-point game after scoring 11 fast points. It took Alabama 8:52 to score 11 points in the first half. It scored 11 points in the first 2:07 of the second half.
Alabama tied that game at 67 apiece with 2:30 to play. Tennessee once again let a big lead slip away in the second half.
It was back and forth for the remaining time. The Crimson Tide continued to cut leads and tie the game, and eventually it was a tie game with one minute left to play.
Alabama guard Labaron Philon was hitting the most critical shots for the Crimson Tide. His turnaround jumper with less than 25 seconds left gave Alabama the lead with 19 seconds left.
Tennessee took a timeout to draw up a response. But Gillespie’s final shot didn’t fall, and time ran out.
Next up, Tennessee plays South Carolina on the road Tuesday at 6 p.m.