Tennessee needed a win on Saturday night, and freshman forward Nate Ament led them to one. Behind Ament’s career-high 29 points, Tennessee defeated Alabama by a score of 79-73 in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Vols went into the halftime break down by three points, but outscored the Crimson Tide by nine points in the second half to pick up the six-point win.
Tennessee’s win also spoiled the re-debut of former NBA G-League forward Charles Bediako in front of the Crimson Tide’s home fans.
The story of the game here was Nate Ament, but Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 24 points shouldn’t be overlooked. The two scored 67% of Tennessee’s points on the night on 18-40 shooting. Ament’s 29 points came on 10-of-20 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from the three-point line and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Ament was in his bag as he actively looked to hunt down his shots after finding his groove in the contest.
Tennessee was previously 0-3 in true road games this season. Not only did the overall win come at a needed time for the Vols, but it snapped a road losing streak ahead of next week’s midweek game at Georgia.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media in Tuscaloosa. Tennessee also had Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie speak for a few moments as well.
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Check out the postgame interviews below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee F Nate Ament
Tennessee G Ja’Kobi Gillespie
