Trae Golden led Tennessee with 20 points.
Photo by Reed Carringer

KNOXVILLE—In a clearly uninspired effort, the Vols fell to the Bears of Mercer in opening round NIT action. From the outset Mercer was more motivated, sharper, and more energetic, and they led the Vols 34-28 at the half. Though Tennessee made runs at times, Mercer always had an answer and earned a comfortable 75-67 victory. The Bears advance to play at BYU while the Vols are forced to sit back and wait until next season for a shot at seeing their March dreams realized.

Offense: Tennessee was led by Trae Golden’s 20 points. He was 6-14 from the field and tried to keep the Vols in the game. Jarnell Stokes recorded his usual double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds; that was it for Vols in double-figures. Tennessee shots just 37.9% for the game and generally settled for jumpers instead of attacking the basket.

Defense: Mercer forward Daniel Coursey proved to be a tough matchup in the paint. He scored 15 on 7-7 shooting before fouling out with 2:17 to play. Guard Travis Smith led all-scorers with 25 and beat the Vols from all areas on the court, while Langston Hall added 16 and Jakob Gollon scored 12 to account for all the Bears in double-figures. Mercer shot an even 50% in the win.

Final Take: This was an NIT game folks. Bubble teams understandably don’t fare well in the NIT because they had hopes of playing on a much bigger stage. Martin admitted earlier in the week that preparing his team for the nation’s consolation tournament wouldn’t be an easy task…and he was right. Tennessee turned in their worst effort of the year and now their season is over. The Vols fought extremely hard this season to claw their way back in the tournament picture, but failing to earn an NCAA bid clearly took the wind out of UT’s sails. Mercer was the more inspired team and clearly deserved the victory.

Up Next: Vol fans will wait and see if Stokes or McRae make an unwise decision to enter the NBA Draft. If they return, Tennessee should be a Top 25 team headed into next season.