Tennessee basketball knocked off Auburn 92-84 on Wednesday night as they remained atop the SEC standings with a big home win.
The Vols relied on their front court for offensive production in the first half as Jonas Aidoo scored 10 points and Tobe Awaka added six as Tennessee took a halftime lead.
Tennessee quickly pushed their lead to nine points after opening the second half on a 5-0 run, but from there Auburn took control of the game. The Vols’ offense struggled over the ensuing stretch and Auburn went on a 23-6 run over a 7:07 stretch to take an eight-point lead.
That’s when Dalton Knecht came to Tennessee’s rescue. Over the final 12:01 of the game, Knecht outscored Auburn 25-21 as the Vols took control of the game.
Knecht hit deep triples, he hit shots in the midrange and he got to the basket and scored some tough baskets. Over a 7:50 stretch, Knecht scored 23 points and made nine-of-10 field goal attempts. The Northern Colorado transfer put the team on his back and pulled Tennessee to the finish line.
“That’s the performance that Dalton did,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “I mean, what he did in the last about 12 minutes, I think, was just one of the great performances that I’ve been able to see.”
After the game, RTI’s Ric Butler and Ryan Schumpert discussed Knecht’s big night and everything else to know about the Vols’ win over Auburn on Wednesday night. Check it out here.
