COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 4 Tennessee Men's Basketball took care of South Carolina to claim its first outright SEC regular season title since the 2007-2008 season on Wednesday night at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Dalton Knecht posted another signature performance with 26 points and the Vols never trailed the Gamecocks in a 66-59 win to clinch the top seed in the conference tournament.
Knecht was one of three Vols in double-digits in the win. Jonas Aidoo posted 14 points along with nine rebounds in the victory, while Zakai Zeigler put up 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Tennessee.
Tennessee endured multiple shooting slumps in the first half, and even though they finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 13-of-31 from the field, the Vols went into the break on a 16-5 run behind a stretch of three triples from Knecht and a buzzer-beating jumper from Zakai Zeigler. Tennessee closed the opening frame with its largest lead to that point, 35-24.
Knecht finished the half with 14 points, while Zeigler loaded the stat sheet with four points, four assists and five rebounds.
The Vols held South Carolina to an even worse 10-of-31 first-half shooting performance including 4-of-17 from three-point range. The Gamecocks' 24 points in the first half was a season-low scoring effort in the first half. South Carolina also finished the first half without a trip to the free-throw line.
Tennessee started the first half slow and shot 2-for-13 from the floor in the first eight minutes of play, including a near-four-minute scoring drought. The Gamecocks mounted a comeback over that stretch and scored six unanswered points to make it a 40-34 game midway through the fourth quarter.
Knecht helped get the Vols back up by double digits when he drained a three in the corner and drew the foul to convert a four-point play and get the Vols ahead 46-34 with 10:55 left in regulation.
South Carolina threatened Tennessee down the stretch with several big shots and cut the lead to 59-56 with under a minute left to play, but held on down the stretch for a 66-59 win.
Tennessee will try and go into the postseason with a win in its regular-season finale against Kentucky. The Vols host the Wildcats on Senior Night inside the Food City Center on Saturday, March 9 at 4 p.m.
The Vols get a double-bye when the SEC Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 13 and Tennessee won't be in action until the quarterfinal round on Friday, March 15 at 4 p.m.
