LSU 84, TENNESSEE 75
TENNESSEE (15-19)Moore 1-5 4-4 6, Schofield 4-6 1-2 10, Reese 1-4 2-2 5, Phillips 1-3 0-0 2, Baulkman 4-12 4-4 13, Hubbs III 8-11 2-4 19, Alexander 0-0 1-2 1, Mostella 5-14 6-8 19. Totals 24-55 20-26 75.LSU (19-13)Blakeney 6-12 9-9 22, Gray 4-8 2-2 11, Simmons 6-8 3-6 15, Victor II 4-14 2-2 10, Quarterman 5-10 5-10 18, Sampson 1-4 0-0 2, Robinson III 1-1 2-3 4, Patterson 0-3 0-0 0, Bridgewater 0-0 0-0 0, Epps 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-62 23-32 84.Halftime—Tennessee 33-32. 3-Point Goals—Tennessee 7-29 (Mostella 3-8, Reese 1-3, Hubbs III 1-3, Schofield 1-3, Baulkman 1-9, Moore 0-1, Phillips 0-2), LSU 5-17 (Quarterman 3-7, Gray 1-2, Blakeney 1-4, Sampson 0-2, Patterson 0-2). Fouled Out—Victor II. Rebounds—Tennessee 35 (Moore, Reese 6), LSU 38 (Victor II 9). Assists—Tennessee 14 (Moore 8), LSU 14 (Quarterman 7). Total Fouls—Tennessee 26, LSU 20. A—15,222.
NASHVILLE – Three days of heart and a little bit of magic kept the Tennessee Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference tournament longer than expected.
Winning a third straight game, something the Vols hadn’t done since November, in a three-day span turned out to be too much to ask.
Tied with fourth-seeded LSU with seven minutes left in the second half of Friday’s quarterfinal, 12th-seeded Tennessee saw its season crash to an end as the Tigers scored 10 consecutive points and went on to win 84-75 at Bridgestone Arena.
“These guys really have been a fun team to coach,” Rick Barnes said after a 15-18 finish in his first season as Tennessee’s coach. “I’m really proud of them (because) we struggled coming in here. I think it shows great character the way they came in and played great the first night and then yesterday.
“Today was the first day that, not every one, but the younger guys were nervous, because I guess this time of year the more you win the more you want to win and you start putting a little bit more pressure on yourself. We didn’t get off to a great start, but they fought like they have all year. We just didn’t have enough.”
The tone of the program’s first losing season in 11 years is certainly a little bit different after what the Vols showed this week in the state capital.
After blasting Auburn by 39 on Wednesday night, the Vols snatched a last-second upset of in-state rival Vanderbilt before pushing the Tigers into the final five minutes of Friday’s game.
“Coach Barnes made a great point coming into the locker room after the game and just saying he’s proud of us because we didn’t just come in here and lay down even though we hit some adversity throughout the season,” said Armani Moore, who had six points, six rebounds, eight assists and six turnovers in his Tennessee finale.
“I know they’re proud of us, and I’m proud of the guys as well.”
Without top scorer Kevin Punter Jr. and on a four-game losing streak, the Vols were left for dead, but they nearly extended a midweek arrival into the weekend.
“It shows that we have a lot of fight,” senior Derek Reese said. “Looking back to it, we went through so much we easily could have come in against Auburn or any other game like, ‘You know what, we’re ready to go to spring break and have some fun.’ We didn’t. We wanted to keep fighting.
“We really wanted to surprise the world, and you could see a fight in all of us.”
That fight was on display throughout Friday’s tussle with the talented Tigers, the underachieving bunch that will play top-seeded Texas A&M in today’s first semifinal.
LSU (19-13) scored the game’s first eight points and led by as many as nine before Tennessee closed the first half on a 16-6 run to lead 33-32 at halftime.
The Tigers opened the second half with a 9-2 run, but the Vols wouldn’t go quietly.
Devon Baulkman tied the game at 56 with a three-point play, but some key moments were decisive down the stretch.
“We had a couple of miscues on this side of the ball,” Robert Hubbs III said after scoring 19 points, “and we just couldn’t finish.”
Hubbs was called for a questionable offensive foul with 4:28 to go and LSU leading 63-59, and Antonio Blakeney made all three free throws after he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer.
“I didn’t think I extended my elbow or dropped my shoulder down,” Hubbs said. “I went straight up. I made the basket, and they called a charge.”
After Hubbs missed two free throws, Tim Quarterman plunged the dagger into the Vols with a 3 that made it a 10-point game.
“It’s a fine line,” Barnes said. “Not only does your team have to be on top of their game, but officials have to be on top of their games, too. Those are game-changers. That was a big sequence right there.”
The Vols were on the cusp of winning a few more games during the regular season, and they’ll have the same what-if feeling about the season-ending defeat.
“LSU did everything to win this game, and we did pretty much everything to lose this game,” freshman Admiral Schofield said. “I think we kind of gave it to them a little bit, but we’ll get better.”
The Vols will have to replace their most important players in Moore and Punter, but Barnes believes the foundation was set during his first year with the program.
“We’ll have a good offseason and we’ll be back,” Barnes said. “We want to do more. We want to come here, we want to win this tournament and we want to obviously get to the NCAA tournament. You don’t take any of that for granted, but you’ve got to work to get there. And we’re going to work hard to make that happen.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com