Paradise Island, Bahamas – The no. 22 Tennessee men’s basketball team prevailed in a back-and-forth affair Thursday in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals, outscoring USC in overtime, 73-66.
Tennessee and USC played back and forth for the first three minutes of overtime, as Trojan goalie base jumper Boogie Ellis tied the score at 66 with 2:09 left in overtime.
On the ensuing trip to the field, Santiago Vescovi drained a 3-pointer from the wing as the shot clock ran out to give the Vols a 69-66 lead.
From there, Tennessee forced three straight turnovers at USC and Zakai Zeigler was 4-for-4 on the line to seal the win.
Freshman Julian Phillips paced the Vols offensively all game, finishing with a career-high 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also had eight rebounds and was 10-for-12 on the free throw line.
Olivier Nkamhoua also scored in double figures for the Vols, recording a performance of 12 points and six rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting.
With Tennessee trailing 62-60 with just over a minute left in regulation, Phillips found Nkamhoua on the block for a disputed layup that tied the game.
On subsequent possession, the Vols forced a missed USC 3-pointer and Phillips grabbed the rebound with 34 seconds left. Tennessee had a chance to win the game in the dying seconds, but Vescovi’s 3-point attempt was off the mark.
After Tennessee took a three-point halftime lead, USC threatened to pull out of the gates in the second half, beating the Vols 11-4 in the first five minutes of the period to take the lead. by four points to 45. -41.
As he did several times during the game, Phillips had an answer for the Vols – going to the rim for a layup and one that started a 10-0 run in Tennessee and put the Vols back. under control.
After USC ended that Tennessee run with a Kijani Wright jumper, both teams played out the rest of regulation in an eight-point window, with neither team leading by more than four points.
Tennessee led for most of the first half and took a 37-34 halftime lead.
The Vols extended their lead to eight points with 1:13 left in the first period when Mashack stole an inbound pass from USC, took the ball the full length of the floor and threw a slam and a to put Tennessee ahead, 37-29.
USC responded, however, scoring the final five points of the half, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Boogie Ellis to bring the Trojans within three points.
After a slow offensive start in Wednesday’s opener in the Bahamas against Butler, Tennessee was much quicker out Thursday, shooting 42% from the field in the first half.
Phillips, who recorded a career-high 11 points against Butler on Wednesday, hit a career-high scoring in the first half alone with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Next for UT Basketball Flights
With the win, the Tennessee men’s basketball team advances to Friday’s Battle 4 Atlantis Championship game against No. 3 Kansas, which beat Wisconsin Thursday in overtime, 69-68. Tipping is scheduled for around 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.