The University of Tennessee men's basketball team defeated Oklahoma in commanding fashion, 89-66, Wednesday night at Food City Center.
Freshman forward Nate Ament led all scorers with a career-high-tying 29 points for Tennessee (19-7, 9-4 SEC) in a contest it never trailed and led for all but 63 seconds. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, meanwhile, set a program single-game record with a career-high eight steals.
Ament, who shot 9-of-17 from the field, registered exactly 29 points for the third time this season, all in the last eight outings. He scored 17 of his points during a second half in which he went 8-of-8 at the stripe. The Manassas, Va., native added six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, with just one turnover in 33 minutes.
Felix Okpara finished with 18 points, the second-best figure of his career and his top tally in SEC play. He went 7-of-10 from the field to tie his second-highest makes total and also went 4-of-5 at the line to match his top count in makes there. The Lagos, Nigeria, native also posted seven rebounds, a career-high-tying two steals and a co-game-high two blocks.
Gillespie filled the stat sheet with 16 points and eight assists to go along with his eight steals. He also committed just one turnover in 37 minutes of court time.
The eight steals for Gillespie surpassed the prior program record of seven held by six players (seven instances). The only Volunteer to reach even seven this century was Kennedy Chandler, who did so on Nov. 30, 2021, versus Presbyterian.
Additionally, Gillespie's eight steals tied for the fifth-highest total ever by an SEC player, including matching the second-best mark in conference action.
Freshman forward DeWayne Brown II gave the Volunteers a fourth player with over a dozen points, as he scored 13 to tie a career high and set a new SEC best. He matched his career best in made field goals with a 5-of-6 clip, to go along with his 3-of-4 count at the line.
Redshirt senior guard Nijel Pack paced the Sooners with 20 points, finishing 7-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-5 beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the stripe. Senior forward Tae Davis scored 12 points, but Tennessee forced him into five turnovers. Sophomore forward Derrion Reid added 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds.The Volunteers shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the field in the victory. They dished out 22 assists, their highest mark in SEC play this season.
Tennessee concluded the night with a season-best plus-24 margin in points off turnovers, 31-7, as it forced 15 giveaways and had only seven. The victors also notched a 46-18 advantage in paint points and a 13-1 ledger in fast-break points.
Up next for the Volunteers is a trip to Nashville, Tenn., for an in-state showdown against No. 19/18 Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium, live on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET.