Vols Top Ole Miss 73-60

Tennessee opened Wednesday Night’s game vs Ole Miss by falling behind 15-2, but the Vols were able to recover. Tennessee ultimately won 73-60 behind Jeronne Maymon’s 18 points, recording his 8th double-double of the season.

Maymon wasn’t the only Vol in double digits, Trae Golden scored 11, Cameron Tatum added 8, and off the bench, Jordan McRae scored 16 and Dwight Miller scored 10. It was actually McRae and Miller that led the charge back after the rocky start.

“I thought our guys did a good job bouncing back. They got out to a slow start.” Said Martin. “Jordan McRae and Dwight (Miller) did a great job coming off the bench and giving us energy and enthusiasm. I thought that was great. The one thing I told Dwight and we talk about it all the time is to just stick with it and continue to work and this is the result of him consistently working and not giving up. It paid off for him, and I’m happy to see that for him.”

McRae stole the show on the night with a pulse-pounding dunk with 11:20 to go in the second half.

“I think he’s just gotten better the last month and a half. For him, it’s really been his approach in practice, to put forth a great effort and really understand what we need him to do on both ends of the floor.” Martin said.

McRae and Maymon weren’t the only players making highlights. The junior foreword had only scored 4 points since his 13 point game at the College of Charleston. Miller scored 10 points, including going 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

“It felt great to be out there especially not playing for a while.” Said Miller. “It makes your testimony that much greater when you can tell people what happens when you work hard and stay positive. Everything happens for a reason, and you have to keep a good attitude. Ultimately it is just playing basketball.”

After the opening drought, Tennessee roared back on a 19-2 run and outscored Ole Miss 71-45 the rest of the way. The ability to rebound from the abysmal start was a vast sign of maturity in this team compared to the one that took the court in November and December.

A key stat in the first half was 10 turnovers for the Vols in the first half. They finished with 11.

With the win, Tennessee improves to 15-13 and 7-6 in the SEC. While the Vols won’t be making an NCAA Tournament Appearance, they can definitely make a splash in the NIT. There were times when I was considering if this team would win 5 conference games, let alone be making a postseason appearance.

The Vols go on the road @ South Carolina on Saturday at 8 pm on FSS.