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WATCH: Vol Great Allan Houston Talks To Tennessee Basketball Following Maryland Game

Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee basketball earned its second top 25 win of the season Sunday afternoon as the Vols knocked off No. 13 Maryland, 56-53, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Vols jumped out to a 21-point first half lead before Maryland came storming back in the second half pulling within two points before coming up short.

New York Vols Zakai Zeigler and Tobe Awaka both showed out for the Vols. In a bigger role with Jonas Aidoo sidelined, Awaka grabbed eight rebounds to go along with seven points. Zeigler earned game MVP honors by tallying 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.

More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said Following Maryland Game

Once Tennessee knocked off the Terrapins, New York Knicks and Vols legend Allan Houston came into the UT locker room and addressed the team.

“You all compete every play,” Houston told the Vols. “One thing I noticed is every play, you don’t take a possession off and when it gets tough like that you just have to keep making plays. One thing I respect about you guys is that it’s not about making shots. It’s about competing every single play. Keep doing that and you all are going to have a special year.”

Tennessee struggled to score in large stretches during the second half but as Houston said, competed on the defensive end and got enough stops to earn the victory. The stingy defense is this Tennessee team’s calling card and it’ll have to carry them through more poor offensive stretches before the season is over.

The Vols return to the court on Saturday when they face No. 10 Arizona in Tucson. Tip-off is at 10:30 p.m. ET with ESPN2 broadcasting the game.

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