University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Kentucky ABA (Exh)
Vols Fall 84-81 in Final Exhibition
November 09, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2001
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KNOXVILLE - David Shelton scored 25 points to lead Kentucky ABA to an 84-81 exhibition game victory over Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols, who had fought back from a 81-72 deficit with just 47 seconds remaining, had a chance to tie the game on the final possession but could not get off a shot.
"I wanted a gut check, and I want us to fight through this," Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson. "We've done a decent job listening to the coaches in practice. Now we've got to do it in the games. We've got to put our noses to the grindstone. One thing about it: We never gave up, and I'm happy about that."
Vincent Yarbrough scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Tennessee, who had won its last 10 exhibition games dating back to 1996. Freshman Derek Stribling added 14 points, connecting on 5-of-9 from the field, while point guard Thaydeus Holden scored 13 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting.
Shelton, who played for Peterson last season at Tulsa, connected on 9-of-14 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Damon Flint, who played at Cincinnati, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.
Kentucky shot 53 percent (16-of-30) in the second half from the field, while holding Tennessee to just 40 percent (16-of-40).
Led Yarbrough's 15 first half points, Tennessee took a 40-36 advantage into the halftime locker room. Kentucky ABA led by as many as six points in the first half before the Vols went on a 15-4 run keyed by Yarbrough and Stribling.
Plagued by preseason injuries, Tennessee played tonight's game with just seven scholarship players. Although the Vols welcomed back Crump, who missed the exhibition opener last week, UT played tonight's game without Del Baker (sprained ankle), Ron Slay (leg stress fracture) and Andy Ikeakor (foot). Junior forward Marcus Haislip also missed tonight's game while serving an academic suspension for the fall semester.
"To get our team ready, we need to get Slay healthy," said Peterson. "The game of basketball is won in the paint. This was Crump's first game. Our freshmen inside were getting bumped around."
Tennessee opens its regular season Nov. 16 against Tennessee Tech to official begin the Buzz Peterson era. The Vols and Golden Eagles are scheduled to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. (EST) from Thompson-Boling Arena.
