No. 4 Volunteers’ late rally overcomes No. 11 Auburn

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team came back from an eight-point deficit with under 13 minutes to play Wednesday night, defeating No. 11 Auburn, 92-84, in a top-15 showdown in front of a record-setting crowd of 22,547 at Food City Center.

Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht poured in a co-career-best 39 points, including 25 in the final 12:01, to lead fourth-ranked Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 SEC) to victory. His dazzling performance helped the program win its 12th straight home contest against an AP top-25 foe, good for an SEC record, including its ninth in a row against a top-15 opponent.

The Volunteers took a six-point lead on five separate occasions in the first frame, but never extended it beyond that. Twice, Auburn (21-7, 10-5 SEC) responded seven straight points, the second such occurrence coming late in the half in just 1:15 to go in front, 35-34, with 2:05 on the clock.

After the teams exchanged free throws, Tennessee went on an 8-3 run in the final 75 ticks of the session, capping it with a 3-pointer from junior guard Zakai Zeigler in the closing seconds to claim a 44-40 edge at the break. Both sides made 13 shots in the opening half, the home team on 28 attempts and the visitors on 30, while each only missed one free throw, as Tennessee shot 14-of-15 (93.3 percent) and Auburn went 9-of-10 (90.0 percent).

Zeigler opened the second half with another 3-pointer, giving the Volunteers their first three-possession advantage. Knecht added two free throws just 27 seconds later to make it a 13-3 extended burst and put Tennessee up by a game-best nine points, 49-40, with 19:08 to go.

The Tigers, though, countered by scoring 23 of the next 29 points in 5:59 to earn a game-high eight-point advantage, 63-55, with 12:17 remaining. Knecht then went on a personal 11-3 run in just 2:06 to level the score at 66 with 9:55 on the timer. After Auburn junior forward/center Johni Broome and Zeigler exchanged 3-pointers, Knecht hit back-to-back jump-shots, sandwiched around a free throw at the other end, to give his team a 73-70 lead with 8:05 left.

Knecht continued his red-hot shooting and helped the Volunteers go in front by five, 84-77, with 3:12 remaining. That made it a 29-14 run over 8:50, with Knecht scoring 23 of Tennessee’s first 27 points during the initial 7:39.

Auburn got back within four, 86-62, just 62 seconds later, but Tennessee scored the next four points-two by Knecht and two on a layup by fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi after an offensive rebound on Knecht’s first miss after seven makes in a row-to take an eight-point cushion, 90-82, with 59 seconds to go.

The teams split the final four points and the Volunteers registered the eight-point victory. The victors outscored Auburn by 16, 37-21, in the last 12:01. Knecht had 25 of the Tennessee’s first 33 points in initial 10:07 of that stretch, shooting 9-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-3 beyond the arc, and 4-of-6 at the line.

Knecht, who personally outscored the Tigers by four points in the last 12:01, amassed his 39 points on 12-of-21 field-goal shooting, a 5-of-8 3-point clip and a 10-of-12 ledger at the line. The two free-throw marks set season highs for Knecht, who now owns six 30-point games this season, tied for eighth-most in a campaign in program history, including four 35-point performances to tie for second-most.

The Thornton, Colo., native, who reached 25-plus points for the eighth time in the last 14 affairs, also tallied three steals and committed just one turnover in 33 minutes of action.

Zeigler ended the night just shy of a double-double, recording 17 points and a game-leading nine assists, while making all three of his 3-pointers. He became the first Volunteer this season to post a perfect mark from long range on at least three attempts.

Junior forward Jonas Aidoo tallied 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds for Tennessee, while sophomore forward Tobe Awaka had nine points and made all three of his field-goal attempts.

Broome paced the Tigers with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting and he pulled down a game-best nine rebounds, while leading his team with five assists. Junior guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara had 13 points, although Tennessee limited him to 3-of-10 shooting, while graduate student forward Jaylin Williams scored 12 points.

Junior guard Denver Jones added 11 points for Auburn and senior guard K.D. Johnson chipped in 10, as the visitors had a quintet of double-digit scorers. Jones made all four his free throws and Johnson connected on all five of his.

The Volunteers shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the floor, including a season-best 52.9 percent (9-of-17) on 3-pointers. They also went 27-of-35 (77.1 percent) at the line to set season highs in both makes and attempts.

Auburn logged similar shooting numbers, with respective 45.8 percent (27-of-59), 40.9 percent (9-of-22) and 75.0 percent (21-of-28) ledgers. Tennessee, though, had the same number of 3-point makes on five fewer tries while also notching an 18-11 margin in points off turnovers.

The Volunteers now head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a second straight top-15 matchup, this one with College GameDay on hand, as they face No. 14/13 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum, live on ESPN, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.