What Tennessee learned about itself in shorthanded rally against Missouri

The comeback from down 17 points, all the noise from the raucous sold-out crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena, all the huge shots Tyreke Key hit in the second half, all came undone just after the horn sounded Saturday night.

Missouri’s DeAndre Gholston splashed a long, running 3-point shot in desperation as time expired against Tennessee, lifting his Tigers to an improbable 86-85 win.

For the second time in as many games, the Vols had somehow lost on a buzzer-beater. First it was at Vanderbilt on Wednesday, a 66-65 loss after Tyrin Lawrence was left open for a game-winning corner three at the horn. 

“We fought pretty hard in the second half,” Key said after the Vols took another gut punch of a loss. “Give credit to (Missouri). They hit a tough shot at the end.”

But then Key turned his thought back to what his team had accomplished before the final shot went in. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of the guys, though, man,” he said. “They fought really hard and brought the game back. They just hit a tough shot at the end.”

Tyreke Key scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half against Missouri

Key scored a season-high 23 points in the loss, with 21 coming in the second half. He was 5-for-7 from the 3-point line and 6-for-6 from the foul line, scoring all of his second-half points during the stretch in which Tennessee turned the 17-point deficit into a six-point lead. 

Backed into a corner, Tennessee learned something about itself in the second half against Missouri. Even if Mizzou countered with a knockout blow to end the bout.

“We learned that we can fight,” sophomore wing Jahmai Mashack said. “We don’t quit. Ever. Despite the numbers you see on the scoreboard, they don’t mean anything. If you come in with a mindset like that, just knowing that we’re going to play hard for 40 minutes, we know what we can accomplish in every game. 

“We have to come with that grit because you’re going to hit shots, you’re going to miss shots,” he continued. “Opponents are going to do the same thing, but if you come out and you play with intensity and you play with heart and you play with drive, there’s no limit to what this team can do.”

The same Tennessee team that scored 54 points in a loss at Florida on February 1, 46 in a win over Auburn on February 4 and 65 at Vanderbilt four days later managed to score 53 in the second half alone against Missouri.

Up Next: No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Alabama, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

The Vols will need similar production against the upcoming schedule.

No. 1 Alabama (22-3, 12-0 SEC) is next on Wednesday, a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start inside a sold-out, checkerboard Thompson-Boling Arena. After that, it’s a trip to Rupp Arena on Saturday to face Kentucky, then a midweek date at Texas A&M next week.

Head coach Rick Barnes said what his team showed in the final 17 minutes against Missouri was just a sign of what his Vols can be.

“There’s a lot of basketball left to play,” he said, “and the fact that we did what we did and guys are ready to go in and play.”

Tennessee was without senior wing Josiah-Jordan James against Missouri, sidelined by the left ankle sprain he suffered in the final minute at Vanderbilt. The Vols in the second half were also missing freshman Julian Phillips, who tried to play through a hip flexor injury suffered Friday in practice. 

Both players will be game-time decisions on Wednesday against Alabama, as the Vols look to pickup where they left off in the second half against Missouri.

“We made the adjustments that I feel like we had to make,” Barnes said, “I’m really, again, proud of the fight these guys put up.”