Vols beat No. 7 Kentucky in OT

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Posted 6:47AM on Thursday, February 7, 2002

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - In recent years, Tennessee is used to winning at least 20 games and having a chance to beat rival Kentucky. Under first-year coach Buzz Peterson, the Volunteers (12-10, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) have struggled to get to .500 and have lost close game after close game and then lost starter Ron Slay for the season. Now Tennessee has won a season-high four straight games after beating the No. 7 Wildcats, 76-74, in overtime Wednesday. The win moves the Vols into a tie for third in the SEC East standings with Kentucky behind Georgia and Florida with seven games left. ``We're trying to get back to where we've been with all our wins,'' said Marcus Haislip, who scored 24 points, including the game-winner in overtime. ``Now we're winning ball games, and I think people are proud of us now.'' Tennessee has gotten back on the winning side with plenty of drama. Slay tore his ACL last month in a win over then-No. 8 Syracuse. Tennessee lost by 18 to South Carolina, and have won every game since, the last three by a total of seven points. ``We had a bumpy road to get to this point,'' Tennessee's Vincent Yarbrough said. ``Our team has learned to play through adversity, through players not being there and players being hurt. I think we just have a real strong mindset that we're going to execute our sets and nobody is going to stop us.'' Against Kentucky, the Vols were without Slay's replacement, Brandon Crump, because of a virus. Then point guard Jenis Grindstaff hurt his left knee in the second half and had to sit out the rest of the game. ``They've been through an awful lot and have kept their courage,'' Peterson said. The Wildcats led most of the game until midway through the second half but needed a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Kentucky went ahead 74-72 on an inside basket by Chuck Hayes with 2:05 left. Thaydeus Holden, who had missed a free throw late in regulation, then made two from the line to tie it with 50 seconds to go. Tayshaun Prince, who finished with 22 points for Kentucky, lost the ball out of bounds on the next possession, and Haislip put in his own missed shot at the other end for the lead. Kentucky got the ball and looked disorganized when Kentucky coach Tubby Smith called a timeout with 3.3 seconds left. Seeing the offense Kentucky put on the floor, Peterson then called another timeout. When play resumed, all the Vols had to do was prevent another basket. They did. Prince's 3 missed at the buzzer, and Tennessee students and fans spilled onto the court to celebrate. ``Haislip tapped in his own miss in overtime. We just couldn't stop them from rebounding the ball,'' Smith said. Smith said more experience has helped Tennessee improve from last year's 8-8 league record and collapse at the end of the year. ``Buzz has done an excellent job. They took their lumps early in the season and now they're trusting what he's telling them and accepting their roles,'' he said. Yarbrough added 19 points for Tennessee, which lost twice to the Wildcats last season, and Holden and Grindstaff each had 12 points. Haislip also had 12 rebounds. Hayes had 15 points for Kentucky, while Gerald Fitch had 12 and Keith Bogans 10. The Vols were ahead by six points with 30 seconds left in regulation. But Fitch hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 70-67 with 17 seconds to go, then Holden missed a free throw after he was intentionally fouled on the inbounds play. After a timeout, Fitch got wide open and hit another 3-pointer to tie it. Tennessee couldn't get another shot before the buzzer.