University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
22-9
Auburn
17-13
Vols Defeat Auburn 73-66 to Advance in SEC Tourney
March 08, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Coach Green's Postgame CommentsCoach Green on Vols' Next Opponent, Ole MissNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Ron Slay came off the bench to score 22 and grab 11 rebounds as Tennessee beat Auburn 73-66 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
 Tennessee's Tony Harris, passes around Auburn's Kyle Davis and Adam Harrington. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke) |
The Volunteers (22-9), whose winning streak improved to four games, had not won a league tournament game since the first round of the 1998 tournament against LSU. Only three other teams in UT history have amassed at least 22 victories in a season.
"I thought we played awfully well in the first half," said Tennessee coach Jerry Green. "I think our bench gave us 40 points today to their 20. Twenty-two wins this season means a lot to us."
Marcus Haislip, another reserve, added 11 points and Vincent Yarbrough had seven points and 11 rebounds.
Tennessee, which had been the SEC's Eastern Division's top seed the past two seasons, will face Mississippi, the winner of the SEC West, on Friday.
The Tigers (17-13), the runners-up to Arkansas in last year's tournament, were led by Adam Harrington with 25 points, including 11-of-12 from the foul line. Jamison Brewer and reserve Lincoln Glass each had 14 points.
The Vols, after seeing their 13-point halftime lead evaporate, regained the lead at 54-53 and didn't trail again after Terrence Woods hit a 3 and Haislip followed with a layup with 6:07 left.
Auburn responded with four straight free throws by Abdou Diame and Harrington that tied it at 57 with 4:27 to go.
 Tennessee forward Ron Slay goes for a slam dunk during the first half of Tennessee's first round Southeastern Conference game against Auburn. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke) |
Haislip had a block and then slammed in the lob from Slay at the other end. Yarbrough blocked Glass' 3-point attempt and then tipped in Slay's miss as the Vols looked in control with 1:59 to go and a 65-59 lead.
Auburn got as close as five after Harrington's basket with 1:03 to go.
Trailing by as many as 19, Auburn closed to within 38-25 at halftime and started the second half with a 15-1 run to take the lead for the first time. Brewer's 3 with 12:11 put the Tigers ahead 40-39, and the Vols were struggling.
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| UT All-America Ernie Grunfeld was honored at halftime of today's game as Tennessee's Chick-Fil-A SEC Legend. Grunfeld is the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. |
Tennessee missed the first eight shots of the second half then finally scored a field goal on Haislip's dunk with 11:15 remaining.
Tennessee jumped out to a 26-8 lead after Slay's 3 with 10:45 to go, but its offensive started to waver late in the first half.
Auburn is 6-7 in the SEC tournament under coach Cliff Ellis while Tennessee is 2-3 under coach Jerry Green.
The Vols lost 87-71 in their only meeting at Ole Miss last month. Tennessee has won nine of the last 11 meetings with the Rebels, but have a 4-5 mark against Ole Miss in SEC Tournament meetings. UT's last game against UM in the SEC Tourney was 10 years ago in Nashville, a 94-85 victory.
