It’s safe to say Tennessee Basketball seasons have gotten off to faster starts. The 12th-ranked Vols couldn’t get a shot to fall in the first half and couldn’t hold on to a six-point lead in the second half, falling to No. 17 Indiana 66-62 Sunday afternoon in a charity exhibition game at Food City Center.
Malik Reneau hit the go-ahead three for Indiana from the top of the key with 6:21 left in the second half and the Hoosiers scored on the next trip on a Felix Okpara goal tend. Reneau completed a three-point play with 4:17 left to get the lead to six after a 10-0 Indiana run.
Tennessee got 12 points from Jordan Gainey, 13 points and eight assists from Zakai Zeigler and 10 points from Chaz Lanier. Jahmai Mashack had nine, Igor Milicic scored eight and Felix Okpara had seven.
Mashack hit a three with 3:50 left to get the Vols back within three, ending the Indiana 10-0 run, and Milicic then hit two free throws with the 2:08 mark to make it a one-point game.
But Myles Rice answered with a long jumper with 1:38 left to silence the home crowd and get the Hoosiers back up by three, followed by a Reneau dunk with a minute left to make it a four-point lead.
Zeigler missed a three with 19 seconds left that could have tied the game.
Reneau led Indiana with 21 points and eight rebounds. Rice had 20 points and Mackenzie Mgbako had 12. Center Oumar Ballo had six points and nine rebounds and Kaanan Carlyle had five points, three rebounds and four assists.
Neither team led by more than six through the first 15 minutes of the second half.
The Vols came out after halftime and went 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line, building a 52-46 lead with 10 minutes left.
Indiana had a six-point lead of its own early in the first half, after going on an 8-0 run in the opening minutes, a run that Lanier ended from the 3-point line.
Tennessee shot just 24.2% from the field, 15.0% from three in first half
Tennessee went just 8-for-33 from the field in the first half and finished 3-for-20 from the 3-point line. The Vols led 26-25 at the break despite the cold shooting in the first half, after forcing 10 Indiana turnovers and limiting the Hoosiers to 33.3% shooting from the field, including 0-for-11 from the 3-point line.
Gainey had nine points in the first half, going 2-for-6 from the field and 1-for-4 from the 3-point line. Lanier had seven on 2-for-11 shooting and went just 1-for-8 at the 3-point line. Felix Okpara scored his five points in the final two minutes of the half.
Rice led Indiana in the first half with 10 points. Malik Reneau had seven and center Oumar Ballo had six points and eight rebounds.
Up Next: No. 12 Tennessee vs. Gardner Webb
Tennessee will open the regular-season schedule on Monday, November 4, hosting Gardner-Webb in a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start at Food City Center. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
The Vols then go on the road for the first time this season at Louisville on Saturday, November 9, a Noon ET start on ACC Network at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
Tennessee hosts Montana on November 13, then goes to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Championship. The Vols play Virginia to open the four-team tournament on November 21 and will play either Baylor or St. John’s the following day.
