Nate Ament, Tennessee pull away from Ole Miss, extend winning streak to 4
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Tennessee got back in the AP Top 25 on Monday thanks to a 3-game winning streak over Alabama, Georgia and Auburn. On Tuesday, the Volunteers extended their winning streak to 4 games.
Rick Barnes’ team improved to 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the SEC with an 84-66 win over Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6 SEC). The game was close for much of the first half, but the Vols pulled away in the second half.
Tennessee was a bit shorthanded with Felix Okpara sidelined for a second straight game by a calf injury and Amaree Abram out with flu-like symptoms. The absences, however, didn’t slow down UT.
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It was another night with Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie, as the pair of Tennessee standouts combined for 48 points. Ament led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 at the line. Gillespie added
At the half, Tennessee’s lead was just 26-25. The Vols exploded for 58 points in the second half, including 26 from Ament. Ole Miss couldn’t keep up, even after Chris Beard tried to fire up his team by getting ejected. It was a 16-point game when Beard got tossed, and the Rebels only saw the deficit widen over the final minutes.
The Vols will look to stay hot as they head to Kentucky on Saturday. The Wildcats are the last team to defeat Tennessee, winning 80-78 in Knoxville on Jan. 17.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
