Fulkerson Flourishes Late as No. 19 Tennessee Knocks Off No. 6 Arizona

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Kennedy Chandler spun into the paint late Wednesday night. He lofted a layup and missed, but John Fulkerson was there for a put-back. The

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Kennedy Chandler spun into the paint late Wednesday night. He lofted a layup and missed, but John Fulkerson was there for a put-back. 

The sixth-year senior connected and drew a foul in the process. He missed the free throw, but Josiah-Jordan James saved him with a blocked shot on the other end before Santiago Vescovi stripped the ball late. 

Vescovi made two of UT's final three points from the charity stripe, as No. 6 Arizona (11-1) began fouling in the final minute.

Fulkerson's late explosion, James' hard-nosed defense and Vescovi's clutch free-throw shooting made the difference for Tennessee (9-2), as the 19th-ranked Vols knocked off the previously undefeated Wildcats 77-73. 

Fulkerson, in particular, was spectacular. The Kinsgport native notched a double-double with 24 points -- 15 in the second half -- and 10 rebounds with 13 fouls drawn.  

Altogether, it was a vintage Fulkerson performance as UT ran through No. 10.

"I felt like I couldn't be stopped," he said. "I would like to feel that every game because of the amount of work that our program puts in, but it's been a while since I've felt this way.

Hopefully this win can carry some momentum into SEC play."

Here are the takeaways from a statement victory, which was Tennessee's final non-conference game of the season: 

Defensive Stalwart Overcomes Offensive Stumble as UT 'Weathers the Storm' 

Before Fulkerson went off, Tennessee's offense almost cost itself the game. 

The Vols went five minutes without a bucket in the first half, while the Wildcats continued to push UT to the brink in the second period.

Still, Tennessee's defense gave itself just enough of a cushion by forcing 17 Wildcat turnovers -- nine in the first 7:32 -- for the win. 

In the first half, the Vols' offense responded in kind for an early 16-2 lead that sent Thompson-Boling Arena into hysterics. 

How loud did the environment rank for Josiah-Jordan James?

“Tonight was the loudest I’ve ever heard it," he said. "They brought it from start to finish, and we don't win this game without them."

That crowd had even more to cheer about later, as Tennessee's ferocious defense kept the Wildcats at bay. 

Following a first-half drought, UT finished the period on an 8-0 run for a 34-21 lead. 

"We knew we were playing a tough team,” Barnes said. We talked about it being a heavyweight fight, and it was. 

“We knew they would make a push to get back in it. I thought the way we finished the half was a big sequence."

Going into the break, the Vols' home arena let out a carnal roar.

But the Wildcats, whose offense averaged 91 points per game entering Wednesday, were far from done. 

Arizona whittled Tennessee's lead to single digits several times in the second half, and the Wildcats used a 12-2 run to keep pace.

A 60-50 UT lead could have put the game away -- but Tommy Lloyd's team kept battling to tie the score at 62. 

Then UT mounted a 4-0 run, and the Vols -- aided by late Wildcat foul trouble with a heavy hand from Fulkerson -- never relinquished their lead again.

"We let them get comfortable," Rick Barnes said. "Then, we weathered the storm."

Veteran Success, Total Effort Aid Tennessee

Aside from Fulkerson, three other Vols finished with double-digit scoring. 

Santiago Vescovi finished with 15 points, Josiah-Jordan James had 12 and Justin Powell had 11. 

Fulkerson, Vescovi and James combined for 51 of the Vols' 77 points.

"Our older guys, when we needed something...those were the guys that did it," Barnes said. 

"When the going gets tough, we have to be the guys our teammates count on," added James. 

Eight Vols finished the night with at least two points apiece, and James and Olivier Nkamhoua combined for five blocks. 

As a team, Tennessee totaled 40 rebounds compared to the Wildcats' 38. 

Live and Die by the Three? Not Tonight

The rebounding mark matched the Vols' average in 3-pointers through the preseason and most of this year, but UT launched just 24 treys and connected on seven against the Wildcats. 

Conversely, Tennessee scored more than a third of its points in the paint and connected on 13 of 21 layups. 

The Vols also made 15 of 23 at the free-throw line, with seven of those connections coming in the final 3:25. 

‘Find a Way’ to Turn the Page

Altogether, Tennessee found what some might call its "Plan C."

In other words, the Vols discovered a way to win when Chandler wasn't on and threes weren't falling. 

"(This win) shows that when we play our way, the Tennessee way, we can play with anybody in the country,” James said.

That's quite a flip from Saturday, as Memphis cited COVID-19 issues that canceled the game an hour before tip-off.

"As soon as the last game was canceled, we turned our attention to this game," Fulkerson said. "A lot of credit to our coaches.. (Arizona) did some great things, but we were able to find a way to win."

Now UT will turn its attention to conference play, which begins December 29th at Alabama.

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t thankful for nights like Wednesday, or the holiday that will come Saturday.

"Games like today, it all makes it worth it," James said. "This was definitely a big win going into the break. We definitely get to enjoy Christmas now."

Cover photo via Jake Nichols