AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Timmy Allen's free throw with 6 seconds left sent Texas to a 52-51 win over No. 18 Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday night after the Volunteers rallied from 17 points down in the second half.
Allen missed his first attempt, then made his second to give the Longhorns the lead. After calling timeout, Tennessee scrambled to get the ball up court for Josiah-Jordan James 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim before Texas swatted away the rebound.
The Texas win spoiled the return party for Tennessee coach Rich Barnes, who led the Longhorns program for 17 seasons from 1998-2015 and has the most wins in school history with 402.
Courtney Ramey scored 18 to lead Texas (16-5), which looked to be in total control midway when he made a 3-pointer and then a scoop layup that made it 51-37 with 4:49 to play.
Tennessee then stormed back and consecutive 3-pointers from James and Zakai Zeigler got them within six. Victor Baileý's flying tip-in off a missed Ziegler 3-pointer tied it at 51-51,
Tennessee had a chance to take the lead but Santiago Miscovi missed a 3-point attempt late in the shot clock. Texas won the rebound before Allen drew the foul for the winning free throw.
Zeigler scored 12 points to lead Tennessee (14-6), which nearly stole the victory for Barnes in his first return to Austin since he was fired in 2015.
Texas rolled out the welcome mat for the coach who led the program to 16 NCAA Tournaments in 17 years and a Final Four in 2003, with a rare sellout crowd and a video tribute before tipoff. Longhorns players, who were still in junior high the last time Barnes was in the building, wore warm-up shirts with “Thank You Coach Barnes” and a photo of him cutting down the nets after a big victory.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Volunteers ran into the sort of smothering defense they use on opponents and a miserable start to the second half put them in a big whole. Tennessee missed eight of its first nine shots of the half as Texas built a double-digit lead after a tight first half.
Texas: The Longhorns got their best win of the season with their first over a ranked opponent. And it nearly got away. After surging to the big lead, the Longhorns started passing up open shots and got too deep into the shot clock. They also started getting sloppy and it as a 10-second half-court violation that set up the tying basket late.
UP NEXT
Tennessee: Hosts Texas A&M on Tuesday
Texas: Plays at Texas Tech on Tuesday. Longhorns first-year coach Chris Beard coached the Red Raiders for five seasons before coming to Texas.
