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Chaz Lanier leads Tennessee past Texas, into SEC Tournament semifinals

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics

NASHVILLE — Chaz Lanier made the jumper from the foul line, got fouled and couldn’t keep a wide smile from creeping across his face. The three-point play would build Tennessee’s lead to 13 points over Texas and would give Lanier 22 points in the SEC Tournament in his SEC Tournament debut at Bridgestone Arena.

Lanier, the hometown kid making another Nashville homecoming, played some of his best basketball in his Tennessee postseason debut, finishing 23 points in an 83-72 win over Texas, advancing the Vols to Saturday’s semifinal round.

No. 4 Tennessee will now face No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, scheduled for a 1 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN. The Tigers beat No. 8 Ole Miss 62-57 in Friday’s early game. 

Tennessee (26-6) got 19 of Lanier’s 23 points in the first half. Zakai Zeigler scored all 19 points in the second half and six had assists, setting a new program record for assists in a season with 230. Jahmai Mashack had a season-high 13 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal and Igor Milicic had 12 points and seven boards.

Texas (19-15), which beat Vanderbilt on Wednesday and Texas A&M on Thursday to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal, got 14 points Kadin Shedrick and 11 from freshman Tre Johnson and Jordan Pope.

After Lanier carried the load in the first half, Zeigler went to work quickly after halftime.

He stretched the lead to double-digits for the first time when he came up with a steal and a transition layup with 13:47 left, forcing a Texas timeout. The sequence gave Zeigler eight points in the first six minutes of the second half. 

The lead was 14 after Lanier’s three-point play was followed by a Jordan Gainey three with 11:52 left, putting the Vols up 61-47. 

Chaz Lanier erupted for 19 points in first half

Tennessee led 41-38 at halftime after Lanier went off for 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-3 from the 3-point line. 

Lanier scored 17 points in the first 8:46, but took only one shot over the next nine minutes. He missed a three at the 2:05 mark, then scored on a drive to the rim with 22 seconds left. 

Tennessee got enough from Lanier’s supporting cast to lead for 17 minutes in the first half. Mashack had eight points, four rebounds and four assists, Milicic had six points and four boards and Gainey and Felix Okpara scored four each. 

The Vols shot 46.9% from the field as a tam in the first half but went just 3-for-14 from the 3-point. Texas shot 55.6% from the field and went 4-for-8 from three. 

The Longhorns got eight from Mark, seven from Pope and five from Johnson. 

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Auburn, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee now gets another look at No. 1 Auburn, after the top-ranked Tigers beat Ole Miss 62-57 to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round. 

The Vols lost 53-51 at Auburn on January 25, giving up a 51-47 lead with 2:07 left in the game. 

Zeigler had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists and Lanier scored 10 in the loss. Johni Broome returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him the previous three games and made his presence felt, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in 33 minutes. 

Miles Kelly made the go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner off a Broome drive and pass and Zeigler missed a corner three with eight seconds left. 

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