EAST LANSING, Mich. — The University of Tennessee men's basketball team took the trip to East Lansing on Sunday to play No. 4 Michigan State in a charity exhibition game.
All proceeds raised from the game were donated to the Hawai'i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund, providing financial resources to the relief efforts from the Maui wildfires in August.
The Vols were without fifth-year Santiago Vescovi and junior guard Zakai Zeigler.
Tennessee went on a 9-0 run, forcing five turnovers early in the game before Tom Izzo called the first time out of the half.
USC transfer Jordan Gainey is a new piece on the team who made an impact early on. He was four-for-four from three and shot perfectly for the first 15 minutes of the game.
The Vols slowed down on offense before the half. MSU was able to cut into Tennessee's 40-37 lead before halftime.
In the second half, fifth-year guard Dalton Connect led the team in points with 28. Gainey and Jahmai Mashack also scored double digits.
The Vols were up the entire game before A.J. Hoggard tied up the game with three seconds left.
Gainey was sent to the line and nailed a second free throw for the win. The Vols just barely walked away with this one, beating the Spartans, 89-88.
UT plays in one more exhibition game against Lenoir-Rhyne before officially starting their regular season on Nov. 6. The game will take place in Food City Center at 6:30 p.m.
