NASHVILLE – Lamonte Turner made the go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the key in the final minute as Tennessee advanced to the title game of the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament with an 82-78 win against Kentucky on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
The eighth-ranked, third-seeded Volunteers (29-4) will take on 22nd-ranked, fifth-seeded Auburn (25-9) in the tournament’s title game at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday. Auburn beat eighth-seeded Florida 65-62 in Saturday’s first semifinal as the Gators (19-15) lost for the fourth time in their past six games.
The Vols finished their semifinal on an 18-6 run, taking the lead for good on Turner’s 3 with 30 seconds remaining. Kentucky’s P.J. Washington missed two baskets inside, and Jordan Bone put the game away with four free throws in the final 10 seconds as the fourth-ranked, second-seeded Wildcats (27-6) lost to Tennessee for the second time in three meetings this season.
Admiral Schofield, whose assist on Turner’s final shot was his fifth of the game, led the Vols with 21 points and made four 3-pointers – including a big one during the run – on eight attempts behind the arc. Grant Williams, who added 20 points for the Vols, had a three-point play that ended a 4:46 stretch without a Tennessee field goal, then hit a 3 from the corner that briefly gave the Vols the lead.
Bone added 18 points and matched Schofield for the team lead with five assists.