KNOXVILLE — The play could not have transpired any better than coach Donnie Tyndall drew it up in Tennessee’s huddle during the preceding timeout.
All it needed was the finish.
The Volunteers got a near-perfect look at a game-tying 3-pointer that could have sent Tuesday night’s game at Arkansas into overtime, but the rim was unkind to Robert Hubbs’ long-range shot.
After bouncing off the rim and kissing the backboard, the basketball twice more hit the rim and fell off, and the Razorbacks hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds left to ice a 69-64 win in Fayetteville.
“I was open, I took the shot and I couldn’t have shot it any better,” Hubbs told the Vol Network radio broadcast after the game. “It hit every spot on the rim. I think I shoot it good, but it just didn’t go in.”
If Tyndall could have the play over, Tennessee’s first-year coach probably would draw it up the same.
Hubbs was the secondary option for a driving Josh Richardson, who drew three Arkansas defenders at the rim and swung a pass along the baseline to Hubbs wide open in the corner in front of Tennessee’s bench.
“We wanted to go with a dribble-handoff situation with Josh, which we did,” Tyndall explained to the Vol Network. “We turned the corner; then he was going to drive it deep. Hopefully, Kevin (Punter), who was in the ball-side corner, could cover from behind for a 3, and that defender stayed home.
“We said, ‘If you get all the way to the rim, look out to the weak-side corner,’ for what we call the drift pass. Josh made a great pass. It was a great look. Robert was one of the two guys we drew the play up for, so we have no problem with the shot.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t drop.”
In a game featuring 14 ties and eight lead changes, the Vols (12-7, 4-3 SEC) will rue some costly mistakes down the stretch that were decisive in a second consecutive defeat.
With Arkansas leading 65-62, the Vols drew up a play to get Armani Moore a path to the basket, but his layup rolled off the rim. Then Punter, a 72 percent free-throw shooter for the season, missed two foul shots with the score unchanged. Still down by three, Moore threw a pass to an empty spot on the wing, prompting Tyndall to cover his face with both hands.
“We were right there,” the coach said. “We missed a couple of free throws late, had a couple right there on the rim that just didn’t go in, and then we got the good look late for Robert that hung on the rim, it seemed like, for about a month and didn’t go in. Our guys competed.”
After spotting the Razorbacks, who have won 63 of 70 home games under fourth-year coach Mike Anderson, a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes, Tennessee battled back into the game and led 37-35 at halftime.
The 37 points were the most the Vols have scored in a first half this season, and it came three days after they scored a season-low 23 in the opening half of a home loss to Texas A&M.
“It’s a different effort from the last game with A&M to this game,” Hubbs said. “It’s a different loss. We played our hearts out tonight.”
Led by explosive guard Michael Qualls, Arkansas erased Tennessee’s five-point second half lead with a 9-0 spurt, but the Vols responded and the game was tied at 60 with five minutes left.
Tennessee followed a similar pattern it used to upset then-No. 19 Arkansas earlier this month by matching the bigger, more athletic Razorbacks in rebounding, outscoring them 32-26 in the paint and turning 18 turnovers into 19 points.
The tough breaks down the stretch, though, were the difference.
“Both sides of the ball, we played hard,” Hubbs said. “We knew it was going to be tough coming into this game. We knew the crowd would get into it and (Arkansas) would press us hard. I think we managed it pretty well.”
The only thing missing at the end of Tennessee’s great effort was the win.
“The one thing I told our team in the locker room,” Tyndall said, “is I was disappointed in the A&M game because I don’t think we had the same juice we had in some of those previous games (against) South Carolina, Missouri, et cetera. Tonight I’m disappointed because we played our guts out and lost. The effort and energy was fine.
“I was proud of our kids’ effort, and you’re disappointed in a different way, if you will. I think we’ll regroup. We’ve got good leadership, as we’ve talked about all year. There’s a lot of basketball left to be played, and we got beat by a good team.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.