KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Despite three Vols scoring in double figures, Tennessee fell to Texas A&M, 63-58, Tuesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena. The contest featured seven lead changes and a season-high nine blocks by UT.

Junior John Fulkerson led the Vols (12-8, 4-3 SEC) with 15 points and a team-high six rebounds. It marked the sixth time in seven games that Fulkerson has scored in double digits. Senior Jordan Bowden was right behind him with 13, followed by junior Yves Pons, who scored 10.

The Aggies (10-9, 4-3 SEC) were paced by freshman Wendell Mitchell, who recorded 23 points on the night. The Big Orange held Texas A&M to a 30.4 percent shooting percentage and forced 14 turnovers, but the Aggies’ 46-21 advantage in rebounding and 16 second-chance points were enough for them to overcome any offensive shortcomings.

Both teams started slow offensively, but Tennessee went on a 5-0 run to gain its largest lead of the opening half at 14-6. The Aggies then went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 14-14,  but the Vols responded with back-to-back dunks from Pons and James to put the Big Orange up by four, 18-14.

But A&M closed the first half strong and managed to take a 25-24 lead into the break.

The Big Orange scored the first eight points of the second half with three free throws from Santiago Vescovi, a 3-pointer from Pons and a lay-in from Fulkerson to put Tennessee on top again, 32-25.

Fulkerson scored the next seven points for UT, but the Aggies kept things close.

Texas A&M went on their second 8-0 run of the night later in the second half, taking the lead, 40-39, with slightly more than 10 minutes left to play. Bowden ended a UT scoring drought with a momentum-shifting dunk, giving Tennessee the lead back yet again.

With less than a minute left in regulation, Bowden delivered a clutch 3-pointer, tying the game at 53-53.

But the Aggies responded with a triple of their own when Mitchell hit from beyond the arc–a shot that proved to be the game-winner.

Block City: Tennessee came into the game ranked ninth in the nation in blocks per game (5.9 bpg) and kept that pace by recording a season-high nine blocks. Tennessee has now recorded 121 blocks on the season, upping its average to 6.1 per game. Tuesday marked the fourth time the team recorded eight or more blocks in a contest this year.

Career-High Night: Two different Vols recorded career-highs in the block column as Olivier Nkamhoua and Jalen Johnson both recorded three. Nkamhoua, a true freshman, tallied his three blocks in one four-minute span.

Yves Making His Mark: Yves Pons finished the contest with two blocks, marking his 20th consecutive game with at least one block. It also marked the fifth-time this season that the junior has made two or more 3-pointers in a contest.

Dishing ‘Em Out: Freshman Santiago Vescovi recorded a career-high in assists with six. His previous best performance was four against both Ole Miss and LSU.

UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — University of Tennessee junior forward Rennia Davis has been named the SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday. The honor is the second of the season for Davis and the fifth of her career.

The 6-foot-2 Lady Vol standout ran her streak of scoring in double figures to 18 consecutive games, averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals last week in No. 22/23 UT’s split with #3/5 UConn and #RV/RV LSU. Davis finished 16 of 27 from the field for 59.3 percent accuracy. She was four of nine from three-point range (44.4) and went 10 of 11 from the free throw line (90.9).

The graduate of Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Fla., closed the week for the Lady Vols with her second 30-point game of the season, firing in 30 and pulling down eight rebounds in a key conference victory over LSU. The win enabled the Big Orange to remain in a tie for second place in the league standings. Davis connected on nine of 13 shots from the field (.692), including two of five from long range, and knocked down all 10 free throw attempts to tie for the fourth-best 100-percent performance in Lady Vol history. Three other UT players have been perfect with more attempts. Her effort was the 11th 20+ scoring effort of her career, tying her for 11th all-time at UT as a junior.

In the LSU game, Davis scored 19 first-half points to help Tennessee rally from seven down to take a four-point lead at the break. She added nine more in the third period, as UT built a nine-point lead against the Tigers. The All-America candidate added a team-high eight rebounds and four steals in the victorious effort, which was UT’s fifth straight victory in league play and improved the Lady Vols to 11-1 at home this season.

Against UConn earlier in the week, Davis hit 50 percent of her field goals (7-14), including a 2-of-4 effort from long range, to finish with 16 points and eight rebounds against the Huskies in Hartford in a game UT led at the half. In the loss to UConn, Davis and her teammates held the Huskies to just 60 points on the evening, a total nearly 19 points below their season average.

Davis and her teammates will head to Nashville this week, where they will meet Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium at 8:05 p.m. CT (9:05 ET) on Thursday. The SEC Network will televise the game, and it will also be available on Lady Vol Radio Network stations and via a live audio stream on UTSports.com.

UT Athletics