Missing woman is found and transported to hospital for evaluation.
23 year-old Audree Duncan left her home on Whittle Springs Road yesterday (Monday) afternoon by unknown means.
There were concerns for her well-being, but she is found and at a local hospital for evaluation.
In Memoriam: Gus Manning Photos | Video: Gus Manning Remembers Gen. Neyland
Updated with funeral arrangements
Tennessee Athletics has lost the last remaining administrative link with direct ties to Gen. Robert R. Neyland, as the beloved Charles A. “Gus” Manning passed away Sunday in his hometown of Knoxville. He was 99.
Manning, who retired in 2000 after close to 50 years of full-time service to UT, maintained an office in Thompson-Boling Arena until 2017 and held the title of Consultant Athletics Director until his passing. He served eight ADs and 11 head football coaches during his career at UT.
The impact Manning made on the evolution of Tennessee Athletics’ internal operations—much of which was done behind the scenes and away from the spotlight—was no less significant than the contributions of iconic names such as Neyland, Nathan W. Dougherty, Joan Cronan, Doug Dickey and Pat Summitt.
“This is a tremendous loss,” longtime friend and former Tennessee football coach and administrator Phillip Fulmer said. “We’ve lost a major piece of Tennessee history. Gus Manning is an icon. His personality and humor made him a pleasure to be around. And his historical knowledge about all that makes Tennessee Athletics special was second-to-none. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Manning’s legacy extends beyond Rocky Top to the entire Southeastern Conference, throughout which he earned a reputation as a sharp administrator and a symbol of East Tennessee charm and hospitality. He was a longtime fixture at SEC functions and championship events and provided trusted counsel to several league commissioners.
“Gus Manning leaves behind a legacy that not only touched the University of Tennessee, but also the entire Southeastern Conference,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Gus was involved in every area of Tennessee Athletics over the decades with his array of responsibilities and developed relationships throughout the SEC that made him an icon, not only on Rocky Top but throughout the Conference. He was a fixture for many years at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and a regular presence at other events. Condolences to his family, the University of Tennessee and his many, many friends across the SEC and the country.”
Former SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer was a close friend to Manning.
“Gus was and will always be a remarkable brick in the foundation of the proud history and rich tradition of Tennessee Athletics, from the days of Gen. Neyland to the present,” Kramer said. “His warm smile and friendly greeting touched everyone who ever entered Neyland Stadium and the other sports venues on campus.
“While that famous Cushman vehicle he used to drive around campus is permanently parked, his life will always be a most memorable part of the heritage of Rocky Top, or wherever the Big Orange flag may wave. All of us who were privileged to know him as a longtime loyal friend will consider that friendship a rare treasure.”
Manning was hospitalized in 2017 and subsequently moved to a rehab center and then a skilled nursing facility that summer. The 2017 Tennessee football home-opener against Indiana State on Sept. 9 ended Manning’s streak of consecutive home games attended at 455 and was the last game he ever saw in person.
Manning attended an incredible 608 consecutive Tennessee football games—home, away and neutral-site contests—until an accident while en route to see the Vols play at Kentucky in November 2003 caused him to return to Knoxville and miss that UT victory.
From 1960-2016, Manning co-hosted “The Locker Room” radio show which aired on The Vol Network on UT football gamedays and is the longest, continuous-running sports radio show in the country. He first co-hosted the show with Haywood Harris, and later with Bud Ford after Harris’ passing in 2010. Harris (1961) and Ford (1966) both were hired on Manning’s recommendation as full-time members of the UT Sports Information Department (now known as Athletic Media Relations), and both were later inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame.
Manning and Harris also co-authored two books on the history of Tennessee football: Six Seasons Remembered: The National Championship Years of Tennessee Football (published in 2004) and Once a Vol, Always a Vol!: The Proud Men of the Volunteer Nation (published in 2006).
“No doubt Gus Manning was a true legend—not only at Tennessee but also throughout the Southeastern Conference and national athletic circles,” Ford, now Tennessee Athletics’ official historian, said. “He was a principal figure in the growth of Tennessee Athletics as we know it today.
“For me personally, Gus was bigger than life and responsible for me being hired at UT. I had the great privilege to witness his ability as an administrator firsthand and spent many hours traveling with him to Tennessee sporting events all across the South. His recall of Gen. Neyland and stories of UT football and basketball games was amazing. I will always be grateful to have had a career opportunity at UT and to be mentored by two great men in Gus Manning and Haywood Harris.”
Manning also hired, mentored and shaped the careers of several other longtime Tennessee staffers such as recently retired Associate Athletics Directors David Elliott, Contract Coordinator David Woodall, Event Management Director Bill Whitesell, Football Director of Equipment & Apparel Roger Frazier, Assistant Ticket Manager Danny Burnley and longtime Thompson-Boling Arena Manager Tim Reese.
“If there’s been anyone who has embodied the slogan ‘I will give my all for Tennessee today,’ it was Gus,” Elliott said. “He held so many important roles over the years, and he never sought any credit for the work he did. He just wanted Tennessee to be the best it could be. I’m proud to have worked with him and to have had him as a friend.”
Born in Knoxville on July 8, 1923, Manning first started attending UT games at Shields-Watkins Field in the 1930s. He graduated from Knoxville’s Rule High School in 1943 before enlisting in the Marine Corps and serving three years in the Pacific during World War II.
Neyland—who, in addition to serving as head football coach also served three stints as AD and occupied that post until his passing in 1962—remembered Manning as a T-formation quarterback at Rule High and hired him as a practice-field guard in 1946 upon.
Already a young war veteran, Manning enrolled as a student at UT in 1947 and walked on to the football team. He earned a varsity letter with the baseball Vols in 1948 and graduated from the university in 1950.
Manning was promoted to Director of Sports Publicity in 1951 (making him the athletic department’s first male, non-coach, full-time employee), and from there he quickly ascended to become Neyland’s top aide as his duties steadily expanded to include oversight of the ticket office, business office, event management, facilities and more.
A two-page memo from Neyland to Manning following yet another Manning promotion in 1960 outlined the following “direct responsibilities”:
Manning’s job titles through the years ranged from administrative assistant, to assistant, associate and senior associate athletics director. He was named 1989 Business Manager of the Year by the College Athletic Business Managers Association.
After officially retiring from full-time service in 2000, Manning negotiated an advisory role with compensation to include one meal per day at the athletics dining facility, use of his famous, mid-1990s model Cushman vehicle—in which he amazingly logged more than 15,000 miles and an annual salary of $1. The arrangement, first agreed upon by Director of Athletics Doug Dickey, was honored by every Tennessee AD since.
Manning served as president of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame from 1987-89 and was honored as an inductee in 1994. He is also a member of the TSSAA Football Officials Hall of Fame and received the organization’s 50-Year Award in 2002. Manning also was a member of the inaugural class of the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
He joined the selection committee of the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and was twice honored by that organization—earning special recognition in 1998 and receiving the Pat Summitt Ignite Greatness Award in 2018. He also received a service award from the UT Letterman’s T-Club in 2015.
In 2019, he was inducted into the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame.
On June 22, 2015, Gate 16 at Neyland Stadium was officially named “The Gus Manning Gate” thanks to a gift in his honor by Peyton and Ashley Manning (no relation).
“My thoughts and prayers are with Gus’s son, Sammy, and the entire family,” Peyton Manning said. “I was honored to call Gus Manning my friend. No one has served the University of Tennessee better than Gus. He was the ultimate Volunteer, and he will be missed dearly. What a life! May he rest in peace.”
Arrangements are being handled by Rose Funeral Home/Mann’s Heritage Chapel. A funeral mass will be conducted Monday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m. ET at The Cathedral of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (711 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919). The family will receive friends after the mass in the Cathedral hall. The family plans a private burial.
-UT Athletics
By Jimmy Hyams
As I visited with Gus Manning years ago at the Little Creek nursing home off Northshore Drive, I asked him a simple question.
“How did you get the name, Gus?’’
He said he was named after Saint Augustus. He was raised a Catholic.
I told him I also was raised a Catholic and served for many years as an altar boy.
Gus said he served as an altar for many years – until he got fired.
“How do you get fired as an altar boy?’’ I wondered.
Gus explained. During a service, he was supposed to ring the chimes. He rang the big bells, the loud bells, the bells that usually dismiss you from Mass.
A Nun fired him, he said.
“My Mother never got over that,’’ he said.
We both broke out in laughter.
I rarely visited Gus Manning when we didn’t have a hearty laugh.
Unfortunately, we have shared our last laugh together.
Gus died Sunday night, Super Bowl night. He was 99. He was born July 8, 1923.
He was a legend in Tennessee athletics. He served as a sports information director, administrative assistant to the athletic director, ticket manager and jack-of-all trades. He worked for Gen. Robert Neyland through Doug Dickey, from 1951 to 2000.
He once attended 608 consecutive Tennessee football games, from 1951 to 2003. The streak ended when he suffered an ankle injury the week of a road game at Kentucky. He attended home football games from 1946-2017.
I had the honor, the privilege of sitting next to Manning at home Tennessee football games for years. I think UT’s sports information staff knew the relationship we had and the respect I had for Gus.
“Just about anything you could think of, Gus was the go-to guy during that time for a number of years,’’ Bud Ford, a longtime UT sports information director and close friend of Manning, said in an interview with The Torchbearer in 2020.
“He was at the center of nearly everything that happened in the athletics department, and there was nobody more respected.’’
Manning, a native of Knoxville, attended Rule High School, where he was voted Best All-Around Athlete. He was a walk-on for the UT football team and lettered in baseball.
He served in the Marine Corps during World War II. He graduated from UT in 1950 and was hired as the SID by Neyland. He worked with 11 football coaches and eight athletic directors.
When he was admitted to the Little Creek facility, I was able to make almost weekly visits, since it was a mile from my house. I usually went in the afternoon, so we could watch a sporting event together.
The visits became less frequent due to Covid and me moving to East Knoxville.
His room was adorned by pictures of former Tennessee coaches and athletes and colleagues, and, of course, cheerleaders.
We talked about sports. We talked about life. His memory was remarkable. He could not only tell you every cut Johnny Butler made on a famous run against Alabama, but he kept up with current UT events as well.
He once told me how Johnny Majors scolded him for allowing Paul Horning to win the 1956 Heisman Trophy while Horning played on a 2-8 Notre Dame team and Tennessee was a contender for the national championship.
“I had to work like hell to get you second,’’ Manning told Majors.
Manning also reminded Majors than Horning always bought Gus a mint julip at the Kentucky Derby.
Often times at Little Creek, other guests would frequent while I was visiting Gus. There was no shortage of friends and family and admirers. And you could hardly find a place to park when Little Creek held a birthday party for Gus Manning.
Gus always thanked his visitors and demanded they sign his guest book, a book that was filled with names of well-known figures.
The last time I went to see Gus was Jan. 30.
It was mid-morning. He was asleep. I tried to wake him. Couldn’t do it. I felt guilty for tapping him on his shoulder multiple times. A nurse came by. She couldn’t wake him either.
I decided to leave him at rest.
Two weeks later, he is at rest with other UT legends like Haywood Harris, John Ward and Bill Anderson.
I will always cherish the time I spent with Gus Manning. The laughs. The stories. The bonding. The friendship.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are investigating a crash on Interstate 75 South.
Crews are working a crash involving six vehicles, minor injuries are reported from at least one of the cars involved. It happened near Sugarlimb Road near mile marker 76.
TDOT reporting all lanes have re-opened.
An off-duty Knoxville Police Department officer is released from the hospital after suffering a broken arm and other injuries following a multi-vehicle crash near the Blount County line.
It happened Saturday night, investigators say a car was traveling eastbound on I-140 West caused the crash which involved five cars with multiple individuals suffering injuries of various severity, none are considered life-threatening.
The driver, a 60-year-old man, was cited for reckless endangerment, no proof of insurance and driving the wrong way on a one-way street. There is no initial indication of alcohol or drug impairment.
Spring prescribed fires planned in Cades Cove
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian Piedmont Coastal Fire Management Zone staff plan to burn approximately 925 acres of fields in the Cades Cove area. Weather permitting, burn operations will occur between today, February 13 and March 3.
Deer, turkeys, ground-nesting birds, and other species benefit when plants they depend on for food and cover are rejuvenated using seasonal prescribed fire. The restoration work using prescribed fire takes months of planning and coordination. Added support from resources and firefighters from across the country helps the park meet specific objectives. “We are fortunate to have assistance from Conservation Legacy wildland firefighters for our spring prescribed fires,” said Fire Management Officer Brian Tonihka. “Their skilled application of prescribed fire is critical to the health of the natural ecosystem at Cades Cove and the safety of our visitors.”
Firefighters plan to burn the following units labeled on the attached map: Maple Branch, Tipton Oliver, and Cemetery Marsh. The three units are the last to be treated with prescribed fire in the Cades Cove area this prescribed fire season. Firefighters successfully burned about 250 acres last fall in the Cable House and Sparks units to target woody plant species that were encroaching into the fields.
Cades Cove Loop Road and historic structures will remain open to visitors during burn operations, but brief delays may occur to ensure public safety. Sparks Lane may be closed, and other temporary road closures or traffic control may be implemented, especially if crews and equipment are working along the edge of the road or if smoke causes unsafe driving conditions. Visitors should expect to see firefighters and equipment along the loop road, Sparks Lane, and Hyatt Lane. Fire managers ask that motorists reduce speed in work zones, and refrain from stopping in the roadways. If smoke is present, motorists should roll up windows and turn on headlights.
Over the last 20 years, park managers have conducted burns during the spring and fall under specific parameters, or prescriptions, to safely reduce fuels, restore meadow habitats, and maintain the historic landscape of Cades Cove. Park staff closely monitor fire weather conditions including vegetation and soil moisture, wind speed and direction, temperature, and relative humidity to ensure that conditions meet the burn plan objectives for the site. The weather and precipitation forecast in the East Tennessee area over the next few weeks will improve the opportunity to meet prescription parameters.
For more information on the use of prescribed burns in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, visit the park website at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature/wildlandfire.htm
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Quotes | Highlights | Horston/Harper/Darby Presser
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A 28-point third quarter effort propelled the Lady Vols to an 86-59 victory over Vanderbilt in UT’s Play4Kay game at Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Senior Rickea Jackson led Tennessee (18-9, 10-2 SEC) in scoring with 21 points on the day, while senior Jordan Horston narrowly missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior Tess Darby also had a productive outing with 14 points, and graduate Jordan Walker dished out a game-high eight assists and logged an eye-popping +40 plus/minus effort.
Vanderbilt (11-15, 2-10 SEC) was led by Marnelle Garraud who tallied 16 points. Sacha Washington and Ciaja Harbison were also in double figures with 12 and 11, respectively.
Jackson knocked down a jumper 21 seconds into the contest to get UT on the board, and Tennessee held Vandy without a bucket for nearly two minutes before Harbison hit her first basket of the game. Horston scored on consecutive possessions to put UT ahead 6-2, but the Commodores responded with an 8-2 run punctuated by back-to-back treys by Ryanne Allen to give VU a 10-8 lead by the 5:53 mark. Jackson tied it up with a layup on the next possession, and Vandy leveled the score again before Tennessee scored six points in less than a minute to lead 18-12 with 3:25 left in the first. VU bounced back with a 7-0 run of its own to take a one-point lead at 19-18, and the teams tied it up twice more before the end of the quarter, with the game going into the second period with the score knotted at 21-all.
The Commodores went ahead 27-21 early in the second frame off a pair of threes by Washington and Garraud before Horston snapped the UT drought with a 10-foot jumper with 7:52 left in the half, setting off a 12-2 UT run capped off by a trey from Sara Puckett to put the Lady Vols ahead by four two minutes later. Vandy whittled that lead down to one via the free-throw line, and jumper by Harbison in the final minute sent the game into halftime with the score knotted at 38.
The Lady Vols came out of the locker room hot, starting the second half with nine unanswered points, capped by a Horston trey to lead 47-38 by the 7:03 mark. Washington ended Vandy’s scoring slump with a layup 45 seconds later, but five quick points by Walker and Darby had UT up by 12 before the media timeout. Yaubryon Chambers hit a layup for Vandy following the break, but the Lady Vols strung together a 10-0 run to explode to a 62-42 lead by the 2:29 mark. Tennessee maintained a 20-point advantage through the end of the quarter, sending the game into the final stanza with UT on top 66-46.
Horston opened the fourth with a jumper before Garraud hit back-to-back threes to pull Vandy within 16. Jackson answered with two straight layups to kickstart a 13-0 UT run that put the Lady Vols ahead 81-52 with 3:52 left in the game. VU hit a jumper to set the deficit at 27 on the next possession, and the Tennessee reserves maintained that advantage through the final buzzer as Tennessee prevailed, 86-59.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will travel to Arkansas for a 7 p.m. ET matchup on Thursday that will be broadcast on SEC Network.
DOMINATING THE PAINT: The Lady Vols were sensational around the basket, out-rebounding the Commodores 51-25 on the day and outscoring them in the paint 48-14. On the offensive glass, UT out-rebounded Vandy 15-4, turning that into 19 second-chance points while holding VU to a Lady Vol opponent season-low zero second-chance points in the contest.
HOLLINGSHEAD CLEANING THE GLASS: Jillian Hollingshead co-led UT with nine rebounds against Vanderbilt, marking the sixth time this season she has topped UT on the boards. Entering SEC play, her rebounding season high was eight set against EKU, and she had exceeded four rebounds on just four occasions. Over the last five contests she is averaging 8.0 rpg.
SECOND-HALF HORSTON: Jordan Horston was key in Tennessee’s explosive third quarter, scoring 10 of her 18 points during that period, and leading UT in scoring for the half with 12 points while adding five second-half rebounds.
ANOTHER THIRD FRAME SURGE: Tennessee broke open a 38-38 tie at the half with a 28-8 explosion in the third quarter to forge a 66-46 lead after three frames. UT shot 73.3 from the field (11-15), 100 percent on threes (2-2) and 100 percent on free throws (4-4) in the period while holding Vandy to 20-percent shooting from the field (3-15), zero percent on threes (0-3) and 50 percent (2-4) on free throws. Tennessee is averaging 21.7 points in the third period in SEC play and 22.4 over the last 18 games.
DYNAMIC DUO CONTINUES TO DOMINATE: Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston continue to dominate for the Lady Vols, with Jackson tallying her tenth 20-point game and 23rd double-digit effort of the season while averaging 20.5 ppg over the last four games. Horston has averaged 14.3 ppg over the last four and notched her 21st double-digit contest of the 2022-23 season.
TESS AND DOUBLE-DIGIT POINTS: Darby’s productive 14 points against the Commodores marked the seventh time this season the junior has scored 10+ points in a game, the sixth time against SEC opponents. It also marked the 16th game this season where she’s knocked down two or more threes. She now has 50 makes on the season, topping her total last season by one and becoming the first Lady Vol since Ariel Massengale hit 74 in 2014-15 to reach the half century mark.
-UT Athletics
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Behind a 13-strikeout outing from graduate Ashley Rogers and a pair of early home runs by senior Kiki Milloy and freshman Taylor Pannell, the 12th-ranked Lady Vols cruised past No. 8 Northwestern Sunday morning in their final game of the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
Tennessee (3-0) set the tone early as Milloy smoked the game’s first pitch over the wall in left to quickly open a 1-0 lead over the Wildcats. UT added to the lead in the top of the fourth when Pannell roped her first-career home run to left center.
With Tennessee leading 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Northwestern threatened to score as it loaded up the bases with two outs on three consecutive singles. Having fanned the first two hitters of the inning, Rogers locked in and struck out NU’s Maeve Nelson to end the threat and preserve the shutout.
In the sixth, the Lady Vols added to their lead, pushing four runs across the plate. Mackenzie Donihoo drove home three runs on a double to center and then came home to score off a McKenna Gibson sacrifice fly. Donihoo finished the day 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, a double and a run scored.
In the circle, Rogers was electric as she kept Northwestern (1-1) off the board – tossing a complete-game shutout. The Athens, Tennessee, native held the Wildcats’ 4-9 hitters hitless as they went a combined 0-for-14 against the Lady Vols’ righty.
The win is Rogers’ second of the season and her 20th career solo shutout – breaking a tie with pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith for fifth all-time in program history.
For the weekend, Rogers tossed 12 innings, allowed just two runs, surrendered two walks and struck out 18.
OFFENSE CLICKING
The Lady Vols scored 36 runs on opening weekend and hit .392 as a team. Tennessee collected 31 hits, including three doubles, one triple and six homers.
NEW BEGINNING
Donihoo, a transfer from Oklahoma, hit .714 on the weekend and finished 5-for-7 at the plate with four runs scored, a pair of doubles and three RBIs.
Behind the dish, Giulia Koutsoyanopulos caught every game and was 3-for-7 at bat. The Arizona transfer hit .429 and scored two runs.
FRESHMAN IMPACT
Several Tennessee freshmen made an immediate impact for the Lady Vols in the first weekend of the season. Pannell highlighted the class in Clearwater, starting all three games for UT and hitting 3-for-8 (.375) at the plate. The Milan, Illinois, native hit her first-career home run on Sunday against Northwestern and finished the weekend with three RBIs and three runs scored.
UP NEXT
Tennessee goes international next weekend as it travels to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the Puerto Vallarta Challenge. The Lady Vols will face Sacramento State, North Dakota State, Cal State Fullerton and Liberty along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
-UT Athletics
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS | BARNES POSTGAME | KEY POSTGAME | MASHACK POSTGAME
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time in four days, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer defeated sixth-ranked Tennessee, as Missouri edged the Vols, 86-85, Saturday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee (19-6, 8-4 SEC) mounted a 17-point second-half comeback and had the lead for the final third of the second half, but off a late inbound, DeAndre Gholston chucked up a 3-point shot from just inside the halfcourt line that found the bottom of the net with 0.0 remaining on the clock, giving Missouri (19-6, 7-5 SEC) a one-point victory.
Despite the loss, Tyreke Key starred in the second half, dropping 21 points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting. He also knocked down all six attempts from the free-throw line. Aiding Key with a big second half was Santiago Vescovi, who drained 13 points and a trio of 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. Vescovi sank 4-of-5 free throws as well. Together the pairing combined for 64 percent of Tennessee’s second-half scoring.
The second-half scoring total of 53 marked the Vols’ largest scoring effort in any half this season. The Big Orange connected on half of its 3-pointers, hitting 9-of-18 after halftime.
Missouri shot lights-out all game long, hitting 30-of-57 (52.6 percent) from the field and an impressive 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc. In both the first and second halves, Mizzou made more than half of its threes, and four players combined to contribute 70 of the Tigers’ 86 points.
Kobe Brown led MU in scoring, posting 21 points. He was complemented by Gholston’s 18 points, and 4-of-5 3-point shooting, Sean East II’s 17 points and D’moi Hodge’s 14 points.
Zakai Zeigler provided the offensive spark for Tennessee early and finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The effort marked his fourth career double-double. Zeigler is just one points/assists double-double away from tying the program record of five, held by Rodney Woods (1972-75).
UP NEXT: Tennessee looks to bounce back as it welcomes No. 3 Alabama to Rocky Top Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Tickets for the game are sold out.
BIG SECOND HALF FOR KEY: Of Tyreke Key’s season-high 23 points Saturday, 21 came during the second half. Key is the first Vol to score 20 or more points in the second half of a game since Grant Williams scored 25 in the second half at Vanderbilt on Jan. 23, 2019.
ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR ZEIGLER: Saturday’s 11-point, 10-assist effort from Zakai Zeigler marked his fourth points/assists double-double of the season. Zeigler’s four points/assists double-doubles rank second in Tennessee program history for a career—only behind Rodney Woods, who had five from 1972-75.
FIRST CAREER START FOR AIDOO: In the absence of Josiah-Jordan James, sophomore forward Jonas Aidoo made his first career start Saturday, recording six points, four rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes.
EDWARDS SEES EXTENDED ACTION: Freshman forward B.J. Edwards saw 5:55 of action in the first half Saturday, his most total playing time in any game this season.
-UT Athletics
By Jimmy Hyams
Rick Barnes didn’t look, act or talk like a coach who had just lost two games in a row on miraculous buzzer-beating 3-point shots.
Tennessee’s coach was disappointed in the gut-wrenching 86-85 home loss Saturday to Missouri, make no mistake.
But his mind was on two other matters.
One, Barnes was encouraged by the way his team clawed back from a 17-point second half deficit to take a six-point lead over a red-hot Missouri team.
“I was really proud of the fight the guys showed in the second half,’’ Barnes said.
Secondly, he was despondent for his senior guard Santi Vescovi, who had a chance to ice the game for the Vols with 4.2 seconds left but missed his first free throw attempt, then his second, although it would have been nullified by a lane violation by Tobe Awaka.
“I hate it for Santi,’’ said Barnes. “That’s where my mind is right now. It’s heart-breaking for him. I know how he feels.
“That’s two games in a row he’s had a chance to put it on ice.’’
Instead, Vescovi missed the two free throws against Missouri after missing the front end of a one-and-one at Vanderbilt before Vandy hit a 3 at the buzzer to pull out a 66-65 victory Wednesday.
It’s the first time in 59 outings Tennessee has lost back-to-back games.
And it’s the first time Vescovi had not come through at the foul line two games in a row.
Vescovi is a career 80 percent free-throw shooter. He has been even better in the final minutes of games. There’s no one Barnes would rather have at the line in the clutch than Vescovi. The coach even designs in-bounds plays to get the ball in Vescovi;’s hands in late foul shooting situations.
That’s probably why Barnes wasn’t as upset about losing to Missouri as he was the way it went down.
“Santi has won a lot of games for us,’’ Barnes said.
Vescovi almost helped Tennessee (19-6, 8-4 SEC) nip Missouri in what might have the greatest UT comeback in the Barnes Era.
Playing without Josiah-Jordan James (ankle) for the game and Julian Phillips (hip flexor) for the second half, Tennessee appeared to have little hope rallying from a 17-point hole.
But UT chipped away and Vescovi nailed a 3 with 7:40 left in the game to put UT ahead 67-64, its first lead since early in the first half. It helped the Vols rally from a 49-32 deficit early in the second half.
Vescovi hit another 3 with 2:31 left for an 81-77 lead.
He converted two free throws with 7.1 seconds left for an 85-82 lead.
After Missouri split two free throws with 4.2 seconds left, Vescovi (who scored 16 points) was fouled with 4.2 seconds left.
A Tennessee sellout crowd that had been whipped into a frenzy by the frantic rally and DJ-cheerleader-noisemaker Sterling Henton, was ready to erupt with Vescovi going to the line to seal the deal.
Instead, two misses and a stunning running 30-footer by Deandre Gholston sent the shocked fans home wondering what had happened.
The key to Tennessee’s rally was Tyreke Key, who scored a season high 23 points (21 in the second half). With his teammates struggling to find the basket, Key swished 5 of 9 3-pointers and almost single-handedly surged the Vols back into the game.
UT stretched the lead to 76-70 on two Zakai Ziegler free throws with 4:32 left.Is back-to-back 3s cut Missouri’s 10-point lead to 64-60 with 9:26 left.
Tennessee maintained the lead until Gholston’s acrobatic shot allowed Missouri, a 13-point underdog, to score a huge upset.
The Tigers (19-6, 7-5) shot at a blistering pace from the get go. They led 44-32 at halftime, thanks to drilling eight of 16 from 3-point range., which included a banked in 3 and three airballs.
Missouri finished the game hitting 14 of 26 3s against the best 3-point defense in the nation.
Vanderbilt made 10 of 25, meaning UT allowed 24 3s in two games after allowing 4.9 per game through 23 games and 22.8% from long range.
Missouri also shot 52.6% from the field.
Tennessee shot well enough to win: 45.3% from the field (24 of 53) and 42.9% from beyond the arc (12 of 28).
But for one of the few times this season, the defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
And for one of the few times in his career, Vescovi didn’t come through at the foul line.
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