KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 5 Tennessee men’s basketball lost its first home game of the season despite Dalton Knecht’s best efforts against South Carolina inside the Food City Center on Tuesday night.
Knecht scored the final 13 points for Tennessee as the Vols tried to close a late deficit, but the Gamecocks hit timely shots down the stretch to escape with a 63-59 victory.
Outside of Knecht’s late-game heroics, Tennessee struggled to shoot the ball in the second half. The Vols endured a stretch where they went 1-for-13 from the floor over a 12-minute span and finished the night shooting 21-for-58 overall.
Knecht finished with 31 points and seven rebounds and has scored 25 or more points in Tennessee’s last six games.
Tennessee will try and rebound with a tough test on the road in a top-10 matchup against No. 10 Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 8:30 p.m.
