Tennessee Basketball: No. 7 Vols hold on to beat No. 13 Maryland

BROOKLYN — Tennessee’s defense was airtight. The lead was commanding. And it was all nearly gone in a New York minute.

The seventh-ranked Vols led by as many as 21 points Sunday afternoon against No. 13 Maryland, but had to hang on for a 56-53 win after the Terrapins came storming back in a Hall of Fame Invitational game at Barclays Center.

Tennessee led by 21 late in the first half and had a 16-point lead with just over 11:27 left, before Maryland started its rally with a 12-0 run.

The Vols (9-1) got 12 points from Zakai Zeigler and nine points from Tyreke Key. Santiago Vescovi returned from his shoulder injury to score seven points and Olivier Nkamhoua scored eight of his own. Freshman power forward Tobe Awaka had career-highs with seven points rebounds in 17 minutes.

Maryland (8-2) got a game-high 18 points from Jahmir Young. The Terps scored with 24.6 seconds left after beating Tennessee to a loose ball, making it a two-point game, and Zeigler missed the front-end of a one-and-one at the foul line on the other end.

Maryland missed a game-tying attempt with 11 seconds left, with Key grabbing the rebound and hitting a free throw with 7.7 left to get the lead to three.

The Terps scored 36 points in the second half, shooting 50.0 percent from the field, after scoring just 17 points in the first half on 12.5-percent shooting.

Zeigler hit a corner three with three minutes left, again when Maryland had the lead down to two, and Nkamhoua hit one of two free throws to get the lead back to six with 2:26 to go.

Maryland used a 12-0 run over the course of three minutes, 58 seconds, to turn a 16-point game into a two-possession game, getting back within 45-41 with 7:03 left.

Awaka scored on back-to-back possessions, coming up with offensive rebounds and put-backs with 11:26 left, getting the lead to 16. From there, the Vols would miss four shots and commit four turnovers to help Maryland go on the 12-0 run that changed the game.

Key answered the run with a tough three from the top of the key, with 6:02 left, but Maryland answered with a three-point play to keep the deficit at four.

Vols held Maryland to 3-for-24 shooting in the first half

Tennessee’s suffocating defense held Maryland to just 3-for-24 shooting — the Terps went 2-for-16 from the 3-point line — in the first half, as the Vols took a 34-17 lead into the locker room.

Vescovi had seven points in the first half, Julian Phillips scored six and Key and Nkamhoua scored five points each in the first half.

Tennessee shot just 28.2 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from the 3-point line in the first half, but the 17-point lead at the break was built on the defensive end.

The Vols forced 10 turnovers and scored 12 points off them. They won the rebounding battle 30-22 and gave up just four offensive rebounds, with Maryland scoring only three second-chance points.

Tennessee plays shorthanded again, missing two players

Sophomore center Jonas Aidoo and senior wing Josiah-Jordan James did not play Sunday. Aidoo was out with flu-like symptoms and James missed his fifth game of the season due to knee soreness.

Aidoo, who did not practice with the Vols Saturday in Brooklyn, averages 4.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game off the bench. The 6-foot-11, 241-pound Aidoo has scored at least five points and grabbed at least four boards in each of his last five games, while also serving as the rim protector at the back of the defense. 

He played 13 minutes off the bench on Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky, after playing 21 a week ago against Alcorn State. He averaged 24.3 minutes per game during Tennessee’s three-game run to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship two weeks ago.

James returned last Sunday against Alcorn State, after missing four straight games, and played 14 minutes off the bench. He played 17 minutes off the bench against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday.

Up Next: No. 7 Tennessee at No. 10 Arizona, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Tennessee does not have a midweek game this week with finals being held on campus. The Vols are back on the road Saturday, playing at No. 10 Arizona

The Vols beat Arizona 77-73 last December at Thompson-Boling Arena in the first game of the two-year, home-and-home between the two schools. The Wildcats are off to an 8-1 start this season, with their only loss coming at Utah on December 1, 81-66.

Tennessee returns home to host Austin Peay on December 21, the final game before the Christmas break.