Tennessee Basketball got back in the win column on Wednesday night in Starkville after its loss to Kentucky last weekend. The Vols picked up a road win over Mississippi State to improve to 17-7 and 7-4 in the SEC on the season.
The game played out in an interesting fashion. Both teams traded blows back and forth to start the game, but Tennessee went on a nice run to create some separation heading into the halftime break. But after getting the lead all the way up to 23 points in the second half, Tennessee began to slide. Mississippi State went on an 18-0 run late in the game, which closed the Vols’ lead to just five points.
Tennessee ended up hanging on, though, and got to the finish line behind a small scoring flurry from Nate Ament. Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the Vols with 18 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard posted a game-high 31 points on 13-of-24 shooting from the floor.
Things got a bit dicey there in the second half, but Tennessee hung on to pick up the victory and get back in the winning column.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media to discuss his thoughts on the contest. Tennessee also had Nate Ament (16 points) and JP Estrella (12 points) speak to the media.
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Check out all three postgame interviews below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee F Nate Ament
Tennessee F JP Estrella
