Tennessee Basketball fell to Duke by a score of 83-76 in an exhibition game from the Food City Center on Sunday night in Knoxville. Rick Barnes’ Vols went into the halftime break with a six-point lead, but the Blue Devils outscored Tennessee by 13 in the final 20 minutes.
It was the Food City Center debut for both Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee’s two biggest additions over the offseason. Neither player was efficient, but both ended up productive. Gillespie finished the game with 17 points on 5-of-21 shooting and eight assists, while Ament totaled 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds.
Returning starter Felix Okpara ended with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds.
With the high-profile exhibition game now in the rear-view mirror, Tennessee will turn its attention to the regular season opener next week. The Vols will host Mercer on Monday, Nov. 3, for the season- and home-opener.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer met with the media to discuss their reactions to the game. Tennessee also had Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara speak with the media to talk about the loss.
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Check out both interviews after the game below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Duke HC Jon Scheyer
Tennessee’s Felix Okpara and Ja’Kobi Gillespie
