STARKVILLE – Tennessee returned to action Saturday afternoon for a Southeastern Conference road contest against Mississippi State.
The Vols (12-9, 4-4 SEC) were defeated by Mississippi State (14-7, 5-3 SEC), 86-73.
Tennessee took a 34-28 lead into halftime. The Vols were led by Jalen Johnson’s eight points, John Fulkerson’s four rebounds and Santiago Vescovi’s two assistants in the first half.
After shooting 52 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of the contest, the Vols could not continue their lead in the second half.
The Bulldogs out-scored Tennessee 58-39 in the final 20 minutes of play. Mississippi State finished the second half shooting 18-of-26 and 69.2 percent from the field, while connecting on 18-of-20 free throws. Mississippi State finished the contest 25-of-30 from the free throw line.
Uros Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee in scoring with 16 points each. John Fulkerson led the Vols in rebounding with five.
Tennessee will return to action Tuesday night at Alabama. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPNU.