Dalton Knecht scored 39 points on 12-for-21 shooting, and No. 4 Tennessee held on for a 92-84 win over No. 11 Auburn on Wednesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Zakai Zeigler added 17 points and a game-high nine assists for Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 Southeastern Conference). Jonas Aidoo finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Volunteers, who won their fifth game in a row.
Johni Broome scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Auburn (21-7, 10-5). Chad Baker-Mazara scored 13 points but missed seven of 10 shots from the field.
Auburn pulled within 86-82 with 2:10 remaining.
Tennessee scored the next four points to help seal the victory. Knecht made a layup with 1:54 to go, and on the next possession Knecht missed a long 3-pointer but Santiago Vescovi raced in for the offensive rebound and put back a layup to make it 90-82.
Auburn trailed 49-40 with 19:08 remaining. The Volunteers scored the first five points of the second half on a 3-pointer by Zeigler and two free throws by Knecht.
The Tigers responded with a 23-6 run to take control. Broome scored eight points during the run on two layups and two jump shots, and K.D. Johnson finished it off with two free throws to make it 63-55 in favor of Auburn with 12:17 to go.
Knecht scored 11 straight points for the Volunteers to help them pull even at 66-66 with 9:58 remaining.
Tennessee led 44-40 at the half.
The Volunteers went on a 7-0 run to grab a 19-13 lead with 11:30 left in the first half. Tobe Awaka and Aidoo made two free throws apiece, and Knecht knocked down a 3-pointer to punctuate the run.
Tennessee maintained a six-point lead at 34-28 when Awaka made a dunk off an assist from Josiah-Jordan James with 3:46 left before the break.
Auburn answered with a 7-0 run to take a 35-34 lead with 2:05 to go. Denver Jones scored all seven points during the run with a layup, a 3-pointer and two free throws.
Zeigler drained a 3-pointer for Tennessee to finish the first-half scoring.
–Field Level Media