Tennessee sophomore guard Bishop Boswell stripped Texas A&M guard Pop Isaacs in the final seconds of the Vols’ 87-82 win over the Aggies on Tuesday night in Knoxville. Boswell proceeded to share some choice words with Isaacs and the Texas A&M bench. Call it taking some frustration out. Boswell and his Tennessee teammates made the winning plays they often haven’t in the double-overtime victory.
The Vols trailed 8-0 from the jump and wouldn’t lead until there was 2:53 remaining in regulation. Texas A&M constantly held off Tennessee runs by hitting timely shots. Often three-pointers. But Tennessee kept pounding and finally found some separation and a victory in double-overtime.
“I told them, I said I think we grew up a little bit more tonight,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame.
Compare that resolve to Tennessee’s last loss. Florida went on a 15-2 run late in the first half to turn a tie game into a double-digit halftime deficit. Tennessee had no response. The Vols not only never made a run, but they never got the game to single-digits again.
That’s been a somewhat common them this season. The Vols have struggled to find their counterpunch when opponents have made runs against them. Doing it at home is much easier than on the road, but Tennessee finding it Tuesday is a step in the right direction.
“We’ve been down a couple times,” Boswell said postgame. “I thought we showed a lot of adversity just being able to come back, bounce back and stay with it.”
It was a bounce back performance for Boswell. He played his worst game of the season Saturday in Gainesville. The sophomore guard wasn’t perfect against the Aggies but came up clutch, totaling a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Showing shades of Jahmai Mashack last year against Alabama, Boswell grabbed a clutch offensive rebound on a missed free throw in the final seconds of regulation before drawing a foul and hitting a free throw to tie the game. He made a number of winning plays in the comeback effort.
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However, the biggest story of the night was Nate Ament. Tennessee “sat him down” after he was responsible for three early turnovers. But Ament bounced back in his own way. He scored 19 of his career-high 23 points in the game’s final 20 minutes including 10 of Tennessee’s 19 points in the two overtime periods.
“What was going through my mind was just that first half of the game is over,” Ament said. “We’re still in this game. We’ve got to win it. For me, it was just kind of focus on the possession at hand and forget all the ones that were prior to those.”
Ament was about as aggressive as he has been all season. He alleviated some pressure off Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s shoulders on a night the senior point guard played 48 minutes and seemed to wear down late. Ament was better getting to the basket but also hit a couple contested jumpers over Aggie defenders.
It’s the second straight game Ament has played well and there are some signs that he may be starting to turn the corner. Something Tennessee desperately needs from him.
“We’re confident in him,” Boswell said of Ament. “No matter how the game is going, we stay confident in each other and he made big plays down the stretch. It was huge for us.”
Tennessee’s hope is that the second half against Texas A&M can prove as an inflection point this season. This young Volunteer team has been riddled with inconsistencies. There’s still persisting issues but the come from behind win could prove significant as Tennessee grows and tries to survive a challenging January slate.
“I think it’s huge,” Boswell said. “We have a lot of new guys. A lot of young guys. Just seeing the plays you have to make. How hard it is to win a SEC game whether it’s on the road or at home. We’ve had a couple games where we were in it then got down and weren’t able to bounce back. I think we did a good job of that tonight.”
