Tennessee Basketball snapped a two-game losing skid on Tuesday night with a dominant victory over South Carolina during the Gamecocks’ Senior Night in Columbia, SC. The Vols didn’t have Nate Ament, but it was ultimately no problem. Tennessee beat up on the SEC’s last-place team with a whopping 56 points in the paint during a 78-59 victory.
When you’ve got that many points in the paint, it usually means that the big men showed up – and Tennessee’s did. JP Estrella had a game-high 22 points and Felix Okpara had 20 points of his own. Adding in Jaylen Carey and DeWayne Brown, Tennessee’s quartet of big men had nearly 63% of the Vols’ scoring.
Star freshman Nate Ament was out for the game after suffering an injury against Alabama last weekend. Fellow freshman Amari Evans started the game in his spot, tallying seven points, three rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Ja’Kobi Gillespie had a career-high 12 assists as he consistently found the alley-oop open with the big men.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media to discuss his reaction to the Vols’ big win. Tennessee also had Ethan Burg and Okpara speak for a few minutes each.
More From RTI: Three Quick Takeaways As Tennessee Basketball Bounces Back With Win At South Carolina
Check out all three interviews below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee F Felix Okpara
Tennessee G Ethan Burg
Tennessee will return home to host Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale from Knoxville this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee coverage ahead of the final SEC game.
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