University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
2-1
Santa Clara
2-3
Vols Stifle Santa Clara In 64-57 Win
November 27, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2014
Final Stats |
Notes |
USA Today 
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tennessee held Santa Clara scoreless for the first 9:35 of the second half on the way to taking control of a 64-57 victory in the quarterfinals of the Orlando Classic on Thanksgiving afternoon at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The Vols are now 2-1 while the Broncos are 2-3.
The Volunteers face 11th-ranked Kansas Friday at noon ET. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Senior Josh Richardson catapulted the Vols to a 14-0 run to open the second half as Tennessee rallied from a 30-27 halftime deficit to build a 41-30 lead midway through the second half.
Junior Armani Moore had a career-high 18 points and six rebounds.
Richardson scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as the Vols dominated the action on both ends of the floor. Jabari McGhee had an all-around game with eight points, a game-high nine rebounds and two steals.
In the Orlando Classic semifinals, Tennessee will take on the winner of the #11 Kansas-Rhode Island game which followed the Vols' game at the HP Field House. That game will be played on Friday and tip-off at either 12 Noon on ESPN or 2:30 p.m., on ESPNU depending on the participants.
Santa Clara was led by Brandon Clark, who scored a game-high 21 points. After making 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the first half, the Broncos missed their first seven treys in the second half and finished 6-of-16. Jared Brownridge added 12 and Denzel Johnson had 11 points.
Down three points at halftime, Richardson scored the first five points of the second half to put the Vols up 32-30 for Tennessee's first lead since 4-3. The Broncos were held off the scoreboard for a span of 10:04 bridging the halves as Santa Clara missed eight field goals in a row. Robert Hubbs III layup with 12 minutes left in the game, put Tennessee up 41-30.
Brownridge ended the Broncos' drought with a layup for their first points of the second half with 10:25 on the clock.
Santa Clara got back within seven points at 45-38 on a Matt Hubbard jumper with 8:19 left, but Richardson responded. The senior scored seven consecutive points to balloon the Vols' lead to 52-38 with 6:34 left in the game.
The Broncos cut their deficit to six points with 2:10 left as Clark made the first of two free throws to make it 55-49. It was the first time the game was within two possessions since 13 minutes left in the second half. Moore's bucket off an in-bounds pass from Richardson with 1:40 left pushed the lead to 57-49.
The Broncos continued to any close as Kai Healy knocked down a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to cut the margin to four, 59-55.
Detrick Mostella and Moore combined to make five free throws to seal the win for the Vols in the final minute.
Santa Clara led for the final 15 minutes of the first half on its way to a 30-27 edge at intermission. The Broncos were incredibly efficient in the first half. They took only 13 shots from the floor, making seven with five coming from beyond the 3-point arc. Clark knocked down a pair of treys for a game-best 10 points at the half. The Vols shot 11-of-28 from the field in the first half, and did not make a 3-pointer. Armani Moore led the Vols with nine points.
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