KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nate Ament scored 23 points, 10 of which came in the two overtime periods, as No. 24 Tennessee beat Texas A&M, 87-82 on Tuesday night.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 18, Bishop Boswell had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Felix Okpara had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Volunteers (12-5, 2-2 in Southeastern Conference), who outrebounded the Aggies 60-35.
The Aggies (13-4, 3-1), who had their six-game winning streak snapped, were led by Jacari Lane with 20 points, Pop Isaacs with 16 and Ruben Dominguez with 15.
The Vols had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime when Ament’s 10-foot jumper rattled around the rim and fell off, sending the game to the second extra period at 75-75.
Tennessee had a shot to win the game in regulation. With the score tied at 71, Gillespie missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
Midway through the first half Tennessee had hit 3 of its first 17 shots from the field and trailed 13-8. The Aggies finished the half shooting nearly as well from 3-point (7 of 20, 35%) as overall (11 of 30, 37%) and led 34-30.
The Aggies had won three SEC games by a combined 12 points. One of those was a two-point win over Auburn.
Inconsistency has plagued Tennessee this season. The Vols average 18.3 assists a game, but only had eight in last week’s 24-point loss to Florida. Also, Tennessee big men Okpara, J.P. Estrella, DeWayne Brown III and Jaylen Carey combine to average 20.2 rebounds a game. Against the Gators, they combined for just 10.
Up next
Texas A&M: The Aggies are at Texas on Saturday.
Tennessee: The Vols will be at home Saturday against Kentucky.
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