KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan McRae scored 15 points and Jarnell Stokes recorded a double-double Saturday as Tennessee rallied from an eight-point, second-half deficit to beat Missouri 64-62 and boost its NCAA tournament hopes.
McRae, who had averaged 25.8 points in the six games leading up to this one, went scoreless in the first 18 ½ minutes and didn't make his first basket until 14:33 remained. But he heated up from there and scored seven points in an 11-0 run that put Tennessee ahead for good.
Stokes added 13 points and 13 rebounds as Tennessee (19-11, 11-7 Southeastern Conference) won for the eighth time in its last nine games. Trae Golden had 12 points and Josh Richardson added 11 points.
Laurence Bowers scored 20 points for Missouri (22-9, 11-7). Phil Pressey had 10 points and nine assists, but he was well off the mark on a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game with 12.6 seconds left.
After Pressey's shot landed out of bounds, Golden made a pair of free throws to put Tennessee ahead 64-59 with 11 seconds remaining. Missouri's Earnest Ross made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final score.
This game continued Missouri's recent road frustration. Missouri is 2-8 in true road games this season, but its last five road losses were decided by a total of 16 points, including a 90-83 overtime loss at Kentucky.
Missouri led this game 50-42 midway through the second half before Tennessee rallied. Tennessee pulled ahead for good 54-53 on McRae's putback of a Stokes miss with 5:36 remaining.
It was only fitting that an offensive rebound produced the decisive basket. Missouri entered the day ranked second in the nation with 41.4 rebounds per game and leading the SEC in rebound margin (plus-10.1), but Tennessee outrebounded the Tigers 45-32.
Missouri vs Tennessee, March 9, 2013
That wasn't the only surprise Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Tennessee forward Quinton Chievous, a bit player for most of the season, picked an appropriate time to play the best game of his young career.
Chievous' father, former NBA first-round draft pick Derrick Chievous, racked up 2,580 points for Missouri from 1985-88 and remains the school's all-time leading scorer. But the redshirt freshman had struggled to earn playing time and make an impact this season.
That all changed Saturday against his dad's former team.
Chievous established career highs in points (seven), rebounds (five) and assists (two). He had seven points and four rebounds in the first half alone as Tennessee overcame Missouri's sizzling start to forge a halftime tie.
Missouri grabbed an early 17-10 lead by making eight of its first 11 shots, but the Tigers cooled off after senior forwards Alex Oriakhi and Laurence Bowers got in foul trouble.
Bowers scored nine points in the first 6 ½ minutes of the game before picking up his second foul and sitting out the rest of the first half. Missouri led 19-14 when Oriakhi joined Bowers on the bench after getting called for his second foul with 7:52 left until halftime.
Tennessee proceeded to go on a 12-2 run to grab a 26-21 lead. Missouri responded late in the first half and tied the game on Tony Criswell's putback at the halftime buzzer.
The game would be tied four more times in the first 5 ½ minutes of the second half before Bowers sank a 3-pointer to put Missouri ahead 40-37 with 14:21 remaining. Bowers added a layup and a pair of free throws to spark a 6-0 run that gave Missouri a 50-42 advantage with 10:07 left.
That's when McRae finally came to the rescue.
McRae stopped Missouri's 6-0 run by sinking his first 3-pointer of the night. He made another 3-pointer to cut Missouri's lead to 53-52 with 6:35 remaining. He converted an offensive rebound a minute later to put Tennessee back in front. And he capped an 11-0 spurt by making two free throws with 3:06 left.
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Comments » 7
jt45 writes:
Wow way to go Vols, I almost gave up on this game a time or two. No doubt that todays games should boost the RPI and Tournament chances of this bunch.
Its great to be a Tennessee Vol.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Really good show! Thanks ESPdarN!
Olddogsrule writes:
Announcers saying with Ky beating Fla and Vols with wins over both RPI & resume should put them in with no way to keep em out. What say you?
Great way to come back. Seemed like Skylers trey got the fans back in the game and team defense in final six minutes made for the win.
johnlg00 writes:
Works for me! I was afraid they would not be able to come back when they were down eight in the second half and Jordan was having an off day, but they gutted it out, just refusing to lose their biggest game of the year so far.
69vol08 writes:
A really good season regardless of what happens from here.
wayoutwill writes:
The dark prince(N.C.A.A. selection crew) gave us the screw last year in revenge for the Dark ways of our evil coach of years past(Bruce Pearl);I can assure you that there has never been a team finish the regular season in 2nd place in the S.E.C that was not given a invite to the dance;my guess is that,having taken our medicine like a good lil' boy should;There ain't a chance in hades;they do it to us this year,this team is obviously a top 64 caliber team that will be feared by any team it comes up against,because if we have any kind of offense in our game that particular day,there is no doubt that our defense will,at the very least,have us in a position to win the game! We have stuck to our guns,played toe to toe with everyone but that puzzle of a crew south of here(GA Bulldawgs) and pounded out some great wins and agonized over a few tuff losses,that shoulda-coulda-woulda been wins,I still think we could be in trouble if things bounce wrong across the country in the tourney's and we lose to S.Carolina,but short of losing to them in our first game,in tourney,I feel pretty good that a team on a run like we've been;with key wins over teams that are headed to the dance;--WE GOING DANCING! I can just feel an elite eight in the breeze,McRae going off for 30 plus and Stokes getting jiggy for about 20 boards--Golden actually being Golden--Richardson finally doing what we thought he could from the start!It's on like king gong!
decades_vol writes:
Tennessee is a phenomenal 8-1 for the second half of the SEC season. Coming after a 3-6 start, this seems even more remarkable. I know the SEC hasn't been very strong this year, but this is still impressive. Nobody else in the league has finished better than 6-3 in the last 9 games (including the Gators). I'd like to think that the NCAA Selection Committee would take this type of thing into consideration. No matter what happens from here on in, I'm really proud of this team. Game after game this team has just kept coming. Today was just another example. Down eight to a good team, the Vols refused to quit. I really hope that they get to play for a while longer. First in one tournament in Nashville, then maybe in the round of 68.
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