A narrow loss ended Tennessee’s stay at the Southeastern Conference Tournament Saturday.
The Volunteers squandered a nine-point lead and came up on the short end of a 73-68 decision against top-seeded Alabama in the tournament semifinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The No. 4 Volunteers (18-8) were playing without injured redshirt senior forward John Fulkerson.
Fulkerson missed the game after being hurt against Florida in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinal game.
At halftime, however, the Vols had a 40-31 lead and they did not relinquish its upper hand until the Crimson Tide (23-6) took a 64-61 lead on a 3-point shot by Keon Ellis with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game.
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Tennessee missed a chance to tie the game when Devonte Gaines missed a pair of late free throws.
SEC Player of the Year Herbert Jones scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half to propel the Crimson Tide to victory. Jahvon Quinerly had 19 points and was solid throughout the game for Alabama.
Keon Johnson, who led the Vols with 20 points and nine rebounds, scored 16 of his points over the first 20 minutes when the Big Orange had things going its way.
Jaden Springer scored 18 points for the Volunteers. Santiago Vescovi had 11 points, five assists and made three shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
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