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Zakai Zeigler, No. 6 Tennessee runs past No. 23 Georgia in second half, 74-56

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics

Zakai Zeigler had just hit a 3-pointer to give No. 6 Tennessee a 13-point lead over No. 23 Georgia Tuesday night at Food City Center. After the Vols got a stop on the other end, he motioned for the home crowd to get louder.

Then the senior guard gave the fans no choice. He hit another three. Then another. After an ice-cold first half, Zeigler and Tennessee couldn’t miss to start the second half and Georgia couldn’t score, with the Vols going on a game-changing 15-1 run out of halftime.

It was a 26-4 run by the time Zeigler had knocked down his three straight three. The floodgates were finally open with Tennessee on its way to a 74-56 win 

Zeigler led Tennessee (16-1, 3-1 SEC) with 16 points, seven assists and six steals, passing Santiago Vescovi for the program’s career steals record, now at 215. Jordan Gainey scored a game-high 19 points and Igor Milicic had nine points and eight boards.

Cade Phillips had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench and Jahmai Mashack scored a season-high 11 on 5-for-5 shooting. Chaz Lanier’s shooting struggles continued, scoring five points on 2-for-16 from the floor.

Georgia (14-3, 2-2) was led by five-star freshman forward Asa Newell’s 13 points and got 12 more from Silas Demary.

Mashack scored five straight to start the second half, sparking Tennessee’s run. It was a 7-0 run after a Felix Okpara dunk with 16:47 left, forcing a Georgia timeout.

Zeigler set the program steals record with 13:16 left, leading to a Gainey layup to make it a 44-30 lead. The lead was 21 with 12:30 left, after Zeigler made his third straight three over a span of one minute, 10 seconds.

Tennessee trailed 26-25 at halftime after more offensive struggles

Phillips had eight points and four rebounds in the first half, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor in just nine minutes before halftime. 

His teammates combined to go just 5-for-28, with Tennessee shooting 27.3% from the floor, including 3-for-15 from the 3-point line. 

Lanier started 0-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-5 from three before making his first shot with 55 seconds left in the first half. Zeigler went 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-4 from the 3-point line, Gainey was 1-for-5 and Milicic was 1-for-4. 

Newell had eight points to lead Georgia in the first half, with the Bulldogs leading by one despite shooting seven less shots than Tennessee, after the Vols grabbed 11 offensive rebounds on the 24 missed shots.

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at Vanderbilt, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

Tennessee is back on the road Saturday at Vanderbilt (14-3, 2-2) in a 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on SEC Network. The Commodores beat South Carolina 66-63 on Wednesday in Nashville, winning on a shot as time expired. 

The Vols host No. 15 Mississippi State Tuesday, then go to No. 1 Auburn next Saturday for an 8:30 p.m. ET start at Auburn. 

Tennessee then gets three straight home games against Kentucky (January 28), Florida (February 1) and Missouri (February 5).

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