ForumsFreshman Trae Golden hit four clutch free throws down the stretch, including two with just 7.2 seconds remaining, as the Vols (3-0) held off Missouri State (2-1) by a score of 60-56 at Thompson-Boling Arena in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Wednesday night.
After Cameron Tatum put the Vols on top 57-50 with 28 seconds remaining, Jermaine Mallet and Adam Leonard hit 3-pointers for the Bears that cut the Tennessee lead to just 58-56.
That’s when Golden stepped to the line and scored the game’s final points, calmly draining two free throws that sealed the victory for the Volunteers.
With senior point guard Melvin Goins injured during Tuesday night’s game against Belmont, Golden earned his first career start.
“I thought that Trae and Skylar (McBee) did a terrific job coming in for Melvin (Goins),” Bruce Pearl said. “If we did not win the game, that would not have been an excuse. That’s what Trae came here for. That’s why Skylar worked in the offseason – he worked really hard to try and compete for the point guard position.”
After attempting only two shots in the first half, Tobias Harris was much more aggressive after the break. He finished with a team-leading 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
“When it got down to the nitty gritty, obviously we got the ball to Tobais a couple of times,” Bruce Pearl said. “We’ll continue to. When you’re 5-for-9, 2-for-2 from 3, and 3-for-4 from the foul line, you probably should get more than nine looks. We’ve got to do a better job of finding him in those situations.”
“Perhaps if he didn’t turn it over quite as much he might have had a couple more shots.”
For Harris, not only did the performance boost his confidence, the victory means a trip to New York and an opportunity to play in his hometown.
“It means a lot, especially to play at Madison Square Garden,” Harris said.
“It gives me a lot of confidence, but the main thing was to win the game. I just wanted to make the right plays and do the things that help us get to New York.”
Cameron Tatum and Scotty Hopson, the only other Vols who scored in double figures, both finished with 12 points.
Brian Williams managed just five points, but grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Tennessee shot 28 free throws in the game — 18 more than its opponent — hitting 14-of-22 in the second half.
With the win, Tennessee advances to New York where it will play Virginia Commonwealth next Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
PEARL’S EVALUATION
“The constant has got to be on the defensive end,” Pearl said. “When you guard the rebound, you give yourself a chance. I thought we guarded well. We were physical with our defense. With the scout, guys played close attention to it.”
“I think we’re pretty good at the fast break, but the halfcourt offense still needs work. I haven’t done a good enough job teaching it. We’re not working hard enough at it. I hope we get there.”
“Again, you’re going to continue to see Tobias (Harris), Scotty (Hopson), Cameron (Tatum), in this case Trey (Golden) are going to get the lion’s share of the shots. When your best players are getting the majority of the shots, that’s a good thing.”
CAMERON TATUM ON PLAYING WITHOUT MELVIN GOINS
“Not having Melvin kind of hurt us at first, but we have some backups like Trae and Skylar who have been working all summer long and during the preseason working at the point guard position,” Tatum said.
“We knew and had a lot of confidence in them that they would be ready. We really didn’t study it too much. We just tried to stay ready like coach always tells us.”
Comments on this entry are closed.