University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
12-5, 4-1
South Carolina
10-7, 1-4
Vols Win 15th In Row Vs. SC, 66-62
January 20, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2015
Final Stats |
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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tennessee continued its winning ways on the road with a 66-62 victory over South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday night. The Vols held off a late charge to move to 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the SEC with a 3-0 mark on the road. Tennessee has won 10 of its last 12 games.
Tennessee is the only school in the conference with three SEC road wins, #1 Kentucky and LSU each have two.
Senior Josh Richardson became the 47th player in Tennessee history to score 1,000 career points when he knocked down a 3-pointer with 16:08 left in the game. He finished with 13 points and now has 1,006 in his career.
Junior Kevin Punter also had 13 points while classmate Armani Moore netted 11 points.
South Carolina (10-7, 1-4 SEC) was led by Sindarius Thornwell (17 points and seven rebounds) and Demetrius Henry (12 points and eight rebounds).
Tennessee has now won 15 consecutive games against the Gamecocks dating to 2008. South Carolina's last win the series came on Feb. 17, 2007. The 15-game win streak equals the second-longest for Tennessee vs. an SEC opponent all-time. The longest is a 17-game streak vs. Mississippi State (1939-49) while this streak vs. SC has equalled one vs. Georgia of 15 games from 1941-52.
Among active streaks in the SEC, only Kentucky has a longer streak with 16 consecutive wins over Auburn.
The Vols moved to 8-0 when leading at the half under Donnie Tyndall with the victory. Tennessee extended a five-point lead to 10 in the first few minutes of the second half. A Hubbs 3-pointer put the Vols ahead 36-26.
Richardson scored seven points in row -- including the 1,000th of his career -- to push the Vols' lead to 46-31, five minutes into the second half.
Tennessee's well-rounded 3-point shooting was on display all night as six different Vols made treys. Derek Reese's 3-pointer put UT up by 16 at 51-35 midway through the half. Overall, Tennessee made 10-of-18 from 3-point land.
Overall, the Vols made a season-high 57.5 from the floor, including 66.7 in the second half (12-of-18).
The Vols' defense continued to be stout, especially in the second half. Tennessee held South Carolina to 30.3 from the floor over the final 20 minutes. The Gamecocks shot just 34.4 in the game.
Down by as many as 17, South Carolina got within seven (62-55) on a Thornwell 3-pointer with 2:33 left in the game. The margin was cut to four on a pair of free throws by Carrera with 44 seconds on the clock. Then Carrera's tip-in with 34 seconds made it 64-62.
But, Tennessee withstood the late rally as they have done so often in 2014-15.
Richardson made the first of two free throws with 31 seconds left to push the Vols lead to 65-62. Justin McKie missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left which could have tied the game for South Carolina. Derek Reese grabbed the rebound and made the second of two free throws after a miss to seal the win.
The Vols held a 31-26 lead at halftime thanks to 50.0 shooting from the floor led by Punter's eight points. UT forced South Carolina to 38.7 from the field over the first 20 minutes.
South Carolina tied the game at 22 with 4:14 left in the half as the Vols went scoreless for more than four minutes and committed turnovers on five consecutive possessions. The Vols answered a 7-0 SC run with a 5-0 run of its own to regain a 27-22 lead on a Punter 3-pointer.
Tennessee was hot from 3-point range to start the game, hitting three treys in the first nine minutes to take a 17-10 lead on a Detrick Mostella 3-pointer.
The Vols return home to face Texas A&M on Saturday at 1 p.m., That game airs on Fox Sports Net and can be heard on the Vol Network.
