FAU's strong second half ends Vols' season in Sweet 16
NEW YORK — Tennessee's season has ended.
The No. 4-seeded Vols, who overcame the loss of starting point guard Zakai Zeigler and reached the Sweet 16 with a dominating performance against Duke, saw their postseason run come to a screeching halt in a 62-55 loss to No. 9-seeded Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
For Tennessee, it was the usual problems that have plagued it at times this season – the most glaring of which was inconsistency.
FAU (34-3) won the boards, 40-36m and lit up from 3-point range in the second half – hitting 38.5% of its shots from deep in the last 20 minutes to grab the lead back and hold it in the final 10 minutes.
Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Adioo paced Tennessee (25-11) in scoring with 10 points each.
Johnell Davis scored 15 points, Nick Boyd tallied 12 and Michael Forrest finished with 11 for FAU.
Tennessee's defense stifled FAU in the first half by holding the Owls to just 3-of-14 from 3-point range.
After a back-and-forth first six minutes, a Tyreke Key three opened the way for a 11-4 run for the Vols.
Davis ended a two-plus-minute FAU scoring drought, but Plavsic scored on back-to-back possessions to extend Tennessee's lead to 21-12 with less than eight minutes left in the half.
Tennessee struggled through its own scoreless stretch, which the Owls used 3-pointers from Michael Forrest and Nick Boyd to pull within five at intermission.
While the Vols led for 18 minutes of the period, FAU held a 22-17 edge on the boards.
FAU inched closer in the second half – starting off the period with a Davis layup, but Vescovi fired off two 3-pointers to keep Tennessee in front.
The Owls closed the gap with 9:52 left, grabbing their first lead since the early-going of the first half with a Forrest 3-pointer that was a part of a crucial 18-2 run.
Martin's three swelled FAU's advantage to seven, forcing a Tennessee timeout at the 7:22 mark, then Brandon Weatherspoon gave the Owls a double-digit lead at 51-41.
Aidoo answered the run with a much-needed jumper, then a few possessions later James connected from deep to pull within five with 3:37 on the clock – but it wasn't enough.
Tennessee went without a score from the floor for a two-minute stretch late, and FAU put the game away at the free throw line.
FAU will now play No. 3-seeded Kansas State in the Elite Eight at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
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