Vols’ Impressive Season Comes to a Close in Sweet Sixteen, Fall 99-94 in Overtime to Purdue

Tennessee’s impressive season came to an end Thursday night, as the Vols fell in the Sweet Sixteen to Purdue in overtime, 99-94, at the KFC Yum! Center.

After facing an 18-point deficit at the 16:19 mark and with all the momentum in Purdue’s favor, the Vols stormed back with a 19-2 run to take their first lead since opening minutes of the game. A deep 3-pointer from All-SEC wing Admiral Schofield made it a 70-67 game and capped the run.

With five minutes left in regulation, both teams were knotted at 70-70. With the game swinging in Tennessee’s favor, Ryan Cline went off for the Boilermakers, knocking down four 3-pointers to keep Purdue in the game. 

On the other end of the court, National Player of the Year candidate Grant Williams had two dunks in the final minute to keep the Vols ahead, including a putback with eight seconds left to give UT an 82-80 lead. Purdue’s Carsen Edwardsthen  drove to the basket to try and tie the game, but Williams blocked the shot out of bounds.

On the ensuing in-bounds play, Edwards caught the ball in the corner and got fouled by Lamonte Turner, who was contesting a potential game-winning three. The All-Big Ten performer missed the first attempt but sank the final two free throws to tie the game at 82-82 and send it to overtime.

Tennessee’s momentum ran out in overtime, as the Boilermakers pulled ahead early to make it a two-possession game. The Vols couldn’t convert on the offensive end, forcing UT to foul. Purdue iced the game by going 11-of-18 from the charity stripe in the final five minutes.

The All-SEC duo of Williams and Schofield led the Vols (31-6) in scoring, dropping 21 points each. Jordan Bowden finished with 16 points behind four 3-pointers, while Turner posted 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. All-SEC point guard Jordan Bone rounded out UT’s double-digit scorers, as he finished with 10 points.

Edwards led all scorers with 29 points, and Cline had 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and seven 3-pointers to lift Purdue to the Elite Eight.

The first half was all in Purdue’s favor, as the Boilermakers shot a blazing 55 percent from the field and knocked down seven 3-pointers. Edwards led all scorers in the period with 15 points while hitting four threes. Purdue also doubled UT’s efforts in the paint, 16-8, to help take a 40-28 lead into halftime.

Back-to-back threes by Bowden tied things up at 13-13 early on in the first half, but 13-2 run allowed the Boilermakers to pull ahead by double digits. During the stretch, Tennessee’s offense went cold and missed seven straight shots.

Bowden led the Vols with 10 points and four rebounds, while Williams chipped in eight points, four boards and a block in the first half. Tennessee shot just 36 percent from the field during the opening period.