Ja’Kobi Gillespie poured in 22 of his career-high 34 points in the first half, and No. 21 Tennessee recorded its first Southeastern Conference win by taming Texas 85-71 on Tuesday night.
Gillespie was exceptional on both ends of the court, hitting 12 of 18 from the floor, 5 of 8 from long range and all five free throws. The senior added five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
J.P. Estrella had 11 points and six rebounds for the Volunteers (11-4, 1-1). DeWayne Brown II and Jaylen Carey had 10 points and four rebounds apiece.
Tennessee shot 52.7% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc. It held a 44-18 edge in paint points.
Tramon Mark had 20 points and five rebounds for the Longhorns (9-6, 0-2). Camden Heide totaled 16 points and four rebounds. Simeon Wilcher pitched in with 10 points.
Tennessee brought defensive intensity from the opening tip, getting three steals and a blocked shot to lead 11-5 at 15:39 on Gillespie’s layup and free to complete a three-point play. However, Wilcher drained a three-pointer at 14:10 for the visitors’ first lead, 12-11.
After that back-and-forth stretch between the schools, the Volunteers found their game in the middle part of the half.
They took off on a 19-8 run over an 8:04 stretch for a 30-20 lead that ended with Brown making a layup off an assist from Nate Ament.
Then, Tennessee rode the hot hand of Gillespie to outscore Texas, 18-13, and hold a 48-33 advantage after Amari Evans’ tip-in at the buzzer.
The point guard was the driving force, netting 22 points including a pair of deep shots in the final two minutes as the Volunteers made 17 of 27 shots (63%) and held the Longhorns, who were led by Mark’s nine points, to 39.3% shooting (11 of 28).
In the second half, Felix Okpara’s successful tip at 18:31 lifted the lead to 54-33, but Texas sliced it to 60-45 on Chendall Weaver’s layup at 12:29. Heide and Mark hit treys to make it a game against at 61-51 with 10:34 left.
The Volunteers responded with the next seven points and maintained the double-digit lead the rest of the way to improve to 3-0 over two seasons of the Longhorns playing in the conference.
Tennessee took advantage of 16 Texas turnovers to score 27 points.
