KNOXVILLE – A bad night made for a late one.
Hours after making just one of 10 free throws in his team’s win Wednesday night at Auburn, Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes toed the stripe inside a darkened Thompson-Boling Arena.
The 19-year-old sophomore shot free throws until he made 100 and sank 10 straight. He went to bed sometime after 3:15 a.m.
“That just helped my confidence a lot,” Stokes said before the Volunteers’ light practice Thursday afternoon. “A night like that, it was just terrible. I didn’t want it to affect my confidence from the line.”
Entering Saturday’s regular-season finale against Missouri in Knoxville, Tennessee is fourth in the SEC in free-throw percentage at .706 in SEC games. While Stokes had a forgettable night in the 82-75 win against Auburn, the rest of the team made 26 of 28 attempts. Jordan McRae, a 79-percent foul shooter, made nine of 11 free throws and Trae Golden made all seven of his to bump his rate to 78 percent.