It was the Dalton Knecht Show again Tuesday night, though it was only a 20-minute performance.
After a first half in which he missed every shot except for a couple of free throws, Tennessee's fifth-year senior guard erupted in the second half to finish off a 17-point outing. More importantly, he ignited a surge that helped the No. 5 Volunteers rally past Missouri 72-67 in Columbia.
Knecht made a layup and a 3-pointer midway through the second half that turned a 49-48 deficit into a 53-49 advantage, and his 3-pointer with 8:23 remaining provided Tennessee a 58-52 lead. The Vols grabbed their largest advantage at 67-54 on a Tobe Awaka dunk off an assist by Zakai Zeigler with 4:03 to play.
"My teammates told me that it was time for me to take over," Knecht said afterward on the SEC Network. "They fed me the ball in the right spots, and the coaching staff put me in the right spots. I felt comfortable, and they just started going in for me."
Awaka wound up leading the Vols with 18 points, going 6-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, and he matched Knecht with 10 rebounds. Jonas Aidoo scored 14 and Zeigler 10 for Tennessee, which improved to 20-6 overall and to 10-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
Missouri, which dropped to 8-18 and to 0-13 in league contests, was led by 24 points from Sean East II and 20 from Noah Carter.
"Our defense absolutely kept us in this game," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on the Vol Network. "In the second half, we knew we wanted to get to the bonus as quickly as we could, because we were obviously having a tough time making shots. When we went with two big post players, I thought that changed the game for us."
The start to Tuesday's game was perfectly abysmal, as Missouri took a 1-0 lead into the first media time out, and the teams combined on 1-of-17 shooting through the first eight minutes. The Tigers gained confidence by hanging around and went up 27-22 on an East 3-pointer with 2:12 before halftime.
Mizzou took a 29-26 lead into the break after a half in which the Vols missed all nine of their 3-point attempts and committed eight turnovers.
"In the first half, I thought we were absolutely horrible," Barnes said. "I just felt like we didn't have the energy or the fight that we should have had."
Another East 3-pointer within the first three minutes of the second half put the Tigers up 38-32, and a Tamar Bates layup at the 15:25 mark pushed the difference to 42-35.
"We knew that they've had a lot of close games and that they could have won a lot of them," Knecht said. "We knew we had to execute in that second half. If we can put two halves together, we can be dominant."
Sims hire official
Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon officially announced the hiring of De'Rail Sims as running backs coach. Sims spent this past season at Cincinnati, which ranked sixth nationally with 217.1 rushing yards per game, after working the 2021-22 seasons at Louisville.
"De'Rail is an exceptionally bright coach with a track record of developing outstanding running back rooms and building relationships with his players," Vols head football coach Josh Heupel said in a release. "Our run game has been vital to who we are as a program, and I expect him to make a seamless transition in helping us continue that success. De'Rail also has the experience and knowledge of our recruiting footprint surrounding Tennessee.
"We look forward to him making an impact in our recruiting efforts."
Sims agreed to a two-year deal that will pay him $350,000 this season and $400,000 in 2025.
Baseball Vols escape
Hunter Ensley's sacrifice fly to center field in the seventh inning scored Bradke Lohry and proved to be the difference in No. 9 Tennessee's 3-2 edging of UNC Asheville before 4,699 fans in Tuesday's home opener for the Vols.
It was the first game for the Vols since winning the Shriners Children's College Showdown this past weekend in Arlington, Texas.
"You're worried about a little bit of a lull," Tennessee coach Tony Vitello told reporters after the Vols improved to 3-1. "We didn't even travel back until yesterday afternoon. We enjoyed playing the night games out there in Texas, but those come with some repercussions.
"It was an underwhelming performance overall."
Austin Hunley recorded the final 10 outs for Tennessee to pick up the win.
Freshman starting pitcher Derek Schaeffer allowed a walk and two hits as UNCA grabbed a 1-0 lead, but the Vols tied the game in the second inning on a Kavares Tears home run to left. Tennessee took its first lead in the third inning on Christian Moore's single to left that scored Dylan Dreiling.
The Vols will welcome ETSU to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Wednesday afternoon at 4:30.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.