23 hours ago
Tennessee Athletics
Photo: Tennessee Athletics
ISLAND ISLAND, Bahamas – Number 22 Tennessee came out on top in the back-and-forth on Thursday in the Battle 4 Atlantis semi-final, overtaking USC in extra time, 73-66.
Tennessee and USC played back and forth for the first three minutes of stoppage time, as Troy guard basic jumper Boogie Ellis scored 66 with 2:09 remaining in the round.
On the next trip down the pitch, Santiago Vescovi hit a 3-pointer from the wing as the clock shot down to give Vols a 69-66 lead.
From there, Tennessee was forced to have three consecutive USC rounds and Zakai Zeigler won 4 to 4 to seal the victory.
Freshman Julian Phillips attacked Vols for the whole game, finishing with a career-high 25 and highest in the game when he shot 7 to 13. He also made eight bounces. back and 10 to 12 at the free-throw line.
Olivier Nkamhoua also scored twice as many goals for the Vols, scoring 12 points, six rebounds shooting 5 to 8.
With Tennessee leading 62-60 with just over a minute to play by rules, Phillips found Nkamhoua in a banned position because of a challenge that ended the game.
In the ensuing possession, Vols was forced to miss USC by 3 pointers and Phillips picked up the bounce with 34 seconds left. Tennessee had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but Vescovi’s three-point attempt was unsuccessful.
After Tennessee took a three-point lead at halftime, USC threatened to take the lead in the second half as it overcame the Vols 11-4 in the first five minutes of the half to take a four-point lead with the scoreline. 45 -41.
As he did many times throughout the game, Phillips had his answer for Vols – getting into the belt for a one-and-one reversal, starting a 10-0 Tennessee run and bringing Vols back into control. control.
After USC finished that Tennessee run with a jump by Kijani Wright, the two teams played the rest of the regulation in an eight-point window – neither team had a more than four-point lead.
Tennessee took the lead for most of the first half and took a 37-34 lead after halftime.
The Vols extended their lead to eight points to 1:13 in the opening half when Mashack snatched a pass in the USC penalty box, took the ball the length of the floor and dropped a smash and a to give Tennessee the lead, 37-29.
However, USC responded, scoring the final five points of the round – including a three-pointer from Boogie Ellis to give the Trojans three points.
After a slow offensive start in Wednesday’s opening game in the Bahamas against Butler, Tennessee came out much quicker on Thursday – scoring 42 percent from the field in the first half.
Phillips, who scored a career-high 11 against Butler on Wednesday, achieved his career-highest scoring streak in just half-time with 13 points from four to seven.
NEXT
With the win, Tennessee advances to Friday’s Battle 4 Atlantis championship match against 3 Kansas, who beat Wisconsin on Thursday in extra time, 69-68. Tipping is set around 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
