Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s record 8 steals fuels Tennessee’s rout of Oklahoma
Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 16 points, set a school record with eight steals and added eight assists, sparking a Tennessee defense that capitalized on 15 Oklahoma turnovers in an 89-66 walloping on Wednesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Nate Ament netted a game-high 29 points to go with six rebounds as the Volunteers (19-7, 9-4 Southeastern Conference) won their third straight game by outscoring Oklahoma 31-7 in points off turnovers.
Felix Okpara had 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while DeWayne Brown II scored 13.
Starting forward J.P. Estrella did not dress for Tennessee and was replaced by Jaylen Carey, who posted seven points and seven assists.
Tennessee outrebounded Oklahoma 36-19.
The Volunteers made 33 of 63 (52.4%) of their field-goal attempts, while the visitors sank 21 of 46 (45.7%).
Nijel Pack scored 20 points for the Sooners (13-13, 3-10), who lost for the first time in three games. Tae Davis added 12 points, while Derrion Reid had 10 and six boards.
The Volunteers were good with the ball early, making all but three of their nine shots for a 14-6 lead at 14:20 behind Ament's four points.
Ament rattled in a 24-footer nearly three minutes later for the game's first double-digit lead, 21-11, as Tennessee scored on 10 of its first 13 possessions, but Oklahoma's Jadon Jones was fouled on a deep ball and canned all three free throws.
The home side kept a comfortable lead throughout the half's remainder, leading 45-36 at the break, as Ament posted 12 points.
In the second half, after the visitors' 10th turnover on an errant alley-oop pass, Tennessee went down and increased the lead to 51-36 on a catch-and-shoot trey by Gillespie from atop the key at 17:45.
Jones' three-ball cut it to 56-45, and Dayton Forsythe's two free throws made it 56-47 on a 9-0 run at 13:16.
Pack made it 61-54 with a pair of freebies with just over nine minutes left, but Okpara answered with a vicious dunk.
Oklahoma got within 68-62 on Pack's jumper, but Tennessee's inside game pushed the lead to 23 points to lock down the home squad's seventh win in eight contests.