Tennessee saw its basketball season come to an end Friday in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Volunteers endured an offensive slump in the first half and never recovered in a 70-56 loss to Oregon State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Vols, the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region, never led against the 12th-seeded Beavers (18-12), who made the tournament as Pac-12 champions.
Oregon State held UT (18-9) to 19 points in the first half, furthermore, the Vols’ Yves Pons, usually a solid defensive post presence, was saddled with two early fouls and spent much of the opening half on the bench.
Offensively, Tennessee struggled throughout the game. The Vols were 21-for-63 from the floor and went 5-for-26 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Tennessee did have three players post double figures in the scoring column.
Keon Johnson led the way with 14 points, but was held scoreless until he made a steal and transition bucket on the final play of the first half. Jaden Springer added 12 points and Santiago Vesovi finished with 11. Victor Bailey Jr. had nine points.
Josiah-Jordan James was the Vols’ leading rebounder as he grabbed 13 boards.
Roman Silva led the Beavers, who won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1982, with 16 points. Jarod Lucas had 14, Ethan Thomas chipped in with 13 and Zach Reichle finished with 10 points.
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