Vols hold off Mississippi State to win without Armani Moore

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes speaks to Detrick Mostella (15) as he walks to the bench during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Tennessee won 80-75. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle) Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes speaks to Detrick Mostella (15) as he walks to the bench during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Tennessee won 80-75. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle)

By Patrick Brown January 17, 2016 4 min read

TENNESSEE 80, MISSISSIPPI STATE 75

TENNESSEE (9-8)Schofield 0-3 0-0 0, Punter Jr. 7-17 8-8 23, Hubbs III 6-8 2-4 14, Mostella 8-17 3-4 24, Baulkman 4-6 3-4 14, Kasongo 0-0 0-0 0, Alexander 0-0 2-2 2, Reese 0-2 0-2 0, Phillips 1-2 0-0 3, Woodson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 18-24 80.MISSISSIPPI STATE (7-9)Ware 8-16 5-8 21, Weatherspoon 8-15 4-5 23, Newman 3-15 0-0 7, Ready 4-6 0-0 9, Sword 2-8 4-5 8, Thomas 1-3 0-0 2, Zuppardo 1-2 1-2 3, Daniels 1-1 0-0 2, Holman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 14-20 75.Halftime—Tennessee, 38-27. 3-point goals—Tennessee 10-23 (Mostella 5-11, Baulkman 3-4, Phillips 1-2, Punter Jr. 1-5, Schofield 0-1), MSU 5-19 (Weatherspoon 3-5, Ready 1-2, Newman 1-7, Zuppardo 0-1, Thomas 0-1, Sword 0-3). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Tennessee 31 (Reese 8); MSU 40 (Ware 10). Assists—Tennessee 11 (Punter Jr. 5); MSU 18 (Ready, Sword 6). Total fouls—Tennessee 21, MSU 23. A—5,926.

For at least one afternoon Tennessee solved its second-half problems and thwarted its road woes.

The Volunteers flirted with letting another halftime lead turn into a loss before finding the toughness and poise that eluded them in three previous Southeastern Conference basketball defeats.

Starting in place of the injured Armani Moore, Detrick Mostella scored a career-high 24 points and Tennessee hit its final six shots in the final five minutes of an 80-75 win at Missisippi State in Starkville on Saturday afternoon.

“We didn’t have Armani tonight, so somebody had to step up,” Mostella told the Vol Network radio broadcast after he hit five 3-pointers to surpass his previous career high of 17 points.