Columbia, SC. – Tennessee leaned on an unexpected weapon Tuesday night. Dunks.
The Volunteers overwhelmed South Carolina at the rim, finished 7-for-7 on dunks and scored 56 points in the paint in a 78-59 win that snapped a two-game losing streak.
Tennessee never trailed, scored the first six points of the game, and shot 54 percent from the field while controlling the game from start to finish.
Here were the three biggest keys to the Volunteers’ win.
Interior dominance fuels offense
Tennessee has not typically been a dunk-heavy team this season, but its frontcourt repeatedly finished above the rim against South Carolina.
JP Estrella led the way with 22 points, one shy of his career high, on 10-of-13 shooting. Felix Okpara added a career-high 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting as Tennessee’s big men controlled the paint throughout the night.
Estrella said finishing strong around the rim had been a major point of emphasis.
“We were just grabbing the ball with two hands and dunking it,” Estrella said on SEC Network.
The Volunteers’ dunks came throughout the game, including multiple second-half finishes by Estrella and a late dunk by Okpara that helped maintain Tennessee’s comfortable margin.
Gillespie directs the offense
Much of Tennessee’s success inside started with ball movement.
Point guard Jakobi Gillespie delivered a career-high 12 assists, repeatedly finding Tennessee’s big men for easy baskets around the rim.
Gillespie set up several key finishes, including an alley-oop dunk by Amari Evans late in the first half and multiple second-half baskets by Estrella and Okpara as Tennessee extended its lead.
The consistent playmaking helped Tennessee generate high-percentage looks throughout the night.
Vols answer every second-half push
South Carolina briefly threatened early in the second half.
The Gamecocks opened the half with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to nine and later pulled within six at 46-40 after a fast-break basket.
Tennessee quickly stabilized each time. Okpara scored three times early in the half, Bishop Boswell hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to nine, and Estrella followed with consecutive dunks that pushed the advantage back into double digits.
From there, Tennessee steadily pulled away and led by as many as 20 points.
With the win, the Volunteers turned their attention to Saturday’s regular-season finale against Vanderbilt at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won the first meeting between the in-state rivals earlier this season and will look to close the regular season with another victory.
