'A good weapon to have': Dalton Knecht's daggers weren't going to let Tennessee lose SEC title

By the time Dalton Knecht went off, it was too late. Tennessee trailed South Carolina by nine points with less than three minutes left at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 30 and went into desperation mode. 

Knecht scored nine points over the final two minutes, 56 seconds but could get the Vols no closer than two points with five seconds left. He finished with a game-high 31 points but the Gamecocks left town with the upset. 

In the rematch Wednesday night in Columbia, with the SEC’s regular-season championship on the line, Knecht wasn’t going to let it happen again.

He scored 26 points, making five 3-pointers and spending most of his 31 minutes delivering daggers to quiet a capacity crowd at Colonial Life Arena. Any time South Carolina threw a punch, Knecht responded in kind in Tennessee’s 66-59 title-clinching win.

“The one thing about Dalton,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference, “he’s not afraid. He’s not. He’s got a real short memory. And he’s very confident. He thinks he can score. He thinks every shot he shoots is going to go in.”

Dalton Knecht vs. South Carolina: 26 points, 9-23 FG, 5-11 3FG, 31 minutes

Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) finished 20-for-56 from the floor, including 7-for-20 from the 3-point line. Knecht accounted for nine made shots, including the five threes.

Four of his field goals followed South Carolina buckets on the other end. Another response came at the free-throw line. And he scored to both start the game, 12 seconds in, and to start the second half, at the 17:57 mark to build the lead to 13.

When BJ Mack’s corner three cut the Tennessee lead to one in the first half, met with a roar from the home crowd, Knecht needed just seven seconds to get down the floor and hit a three of his own.

When Myles Stute hit a three with 3:45 left in the first half, getting South Carolina within two and bringing the fans to their feet again, Knecht hit a three 17 seconds later. Then he hit two more over the next two minutes to get the lead to 11 points in an instant. 

“We knew that they were going to hit big shots and they’re a great team,” Knecht said, “so we knew we had to go out and execute and be ready and just stay composed.”

When Collin Murray-Boyles scored at the rim three minutes into the second half, Knecht dunked just over a minute later to get the lead back to 12. 

When South Carolina had the lead down to six with 12:50 left, forcing a Tennessee timeout, the Vols got two Zakai Zeigler free throws then a four-point play from Knecht, to hit a corner three and got fouled. 

After the whistle he stared down at his left hand, counting to three.

When what was as much as a 14-point Tennessee lead was down to seven with 2:35 on the clock and the crowd surging, Knecht got to the paint and hit a tough midrange jumper, then turned and pushed both palms toward the ground, motioning to silence the crowd. 

“Dalton’s tough,” Barnes said. “He’s fearless and he’s not afraid of the moment, so it’s a good weapon to have.”

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Kentucky, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS

It’s a weapon like Jonas Aidoo has never been around. Tennessee’s junior center was asked Wednesday night after the game if he’s ever had a teammate that hits as many big shots as Knecht.

Aidoo immediately said no.

“It’s amazing to see, for sure,” Aidoo added. 

All Knecht and his teammates could see was the regular-season championship dangling in front of them. The Vols knew they couldn’t lose to South Carolina.

Knecht himself wasn’t going to let it happen.  

“They came out ready to play on their home court, Senior Night,” Knecht said. “They were ready, the crowd was ready. So we know we had to go out and be ready for it.

“We knew they were going come out and we were going to get punched in the mouth, but we just had to go out and keep executing.”