KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee men's basketball responded from their out-of-conference loss to Texas with a win over Texas A&M 90-80 on Tuesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The 22nd ranked Vols started off strong, jumping out to a 19-8 lead. Zakai Ziegler crossed up his defender and then knocked down a three-pointer in that stretch.
Victor Bailey Jr. had a dunk. Josiah-Jordan James had 8 points in that opening stretch through just over four minutes, he finished with.
Though the Aggies would trim to lead the single-digits on a couple of different occasions, the Vols kept their distance, stretching the lead back out to double-digits.
The Aggies got it to single-digits a couple of times in the first and second half, but the Vols responded every time.
With 8:49 remaining in the half, Texas A&M's Andre Gordon hit a jumper that made it a one-point game, with the Vols leading 60-59.
Tennessee then went on a 16-2 run, starting off with a bucket from Olivier Nkamhoua, which broke a nearly 5-minute stretch where the Vols didn't make a field goal. Justin Powell hit back-to-back threes that had the fans going wild.
The Vols stretched their lead back to 15points and were able to keep their distance from there.
Kennedy Chandler had 16 points, seven assists, and three steals. Nkamhoua finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. James finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and five steals.
Tennessee moves 15-6 overall and 6-3 in SEC play
The Vols play next against South Carolina on the road on Feb. 5 at 1 p.m.
You can watch Coach Barnes speak about the game below.
