Kevin Punter and Detrick Mostella lead the Vols over Tennessee State
By Seth Norris
The Tennessee men’s basketball team (7-5) finished up the bulk of the non-conference schedule on Tuesday against Tennessee State (9-4).
The Vols escaped another close home contest 74-69 behind a scoring duo of guards Kevin Punter Jr. and Detrick Mostella. The first half belonged to Punter.
The senior led all scorers in the first half with a 14-point performance behind a spurt that saw the guard knock down four 3-point shots in a row. Senior forward Derek Reese added 6 points to the half, and even seen another three go in the basket. Despite Punter’s performance and the team shooting 57 percent from behind the arc (8-for-14), it was not enough as they entered halftime trailing 43-36.
The Vols struggled to contain TSU senior guard Keron DeShields in the first half and junior forward Wayne Martin. DeShields finished the first half shooting 5-for-6 with 11 points and Martin added 8 points and three rebounds.
The second half seen more of the same from Punter with Mostella finding his groove. Mostella and Punter combined for 21 points in the second half with 12 belonging to Mostella. Mostella was very aggressive in the half with an “and one” at 13-minute mark giving the Vols a lead for the first time since the first half.
Mostella finished the game with 16 points in 22 minutes.
The difference for the Vols in the second period was holding TSU’s DeShields to only two points. Martin added 11 points for TSU, but keying in on DeShieds and throwing different players at him, and even senior forward Armani Moore late in the half, helped the Vols hold TSU to 26 points in the second half.
Moore’s performance cannot go without notice. Moore tallied eight points, 14 rebounds, and six assists along with three blocks.
In the end, the Vols gained the lead late at 67-66 off a layup from Moore and secured the win. Kevin Punter put the finishing touches on his night with an “and one” with under a minute to go to put the Vols up 72-69, and the victory.
The Vols head into conference play and the new year on Saturday as they face Auburn and former coach Bruce Pearl.