VOLS, COMMODORES CLASH FOR IN-STATE BRAGGING RIGHTS
The crowd was amped, and as always the great players at Tennessee were ready to match the intensity of the student section. A new tradition, of which I believe to be a fantastic idea from Coach Pearl, the guys entered the arena by coming through the stands like they have done for the past 5 games.
The first half began hotly contested with UT and Vanderbilt trading blows until Scotty Hopson drained a 3-pointer to put UT ahead 17-16 with about 10 minutes to go in the half. The vols held the lead for the remainder of the half and closed with a beautiful reverse layup from Sr. reserve Steven Pearl. The crowd went into a frenzy upon Pearl's deuce.
I was able to catch up with a few of my fellow student section mates, the Rocky Top Rowdies as we are called to get their viewpoints on the action atmosphere. Freshman Ben Sharp said "I wanted to come out to see a top 25 matchup and to see my vols play. I love sitting in the student section. PG Bobby Maze is my favorite player because of his quickness and ball handling skills. I think that UT needs to attack the interior more on the offensive end to pull out the W."
Fellow freshman Alexis Reddish stated that "I came out tonight because I love my school. J.P. Prince is my favorite player. I beleive Tennessee needs to play with more unity and chemistry to get the job done tonight."
Shannon Feeney, another UT frosh said "I love being a student here at UT. Scotty Hopson is my favorite player. The guys need to crack Vandy's zone defense to beat them tonight." I like your style Shannon, Scotty is my favorite as well.
Senior Justin Solomon he told me "I am here tonight because I am a true vol fan and I always try to be here when I am not working. Skylar McBee is my favorite player and it is great to see a walk-on contributing as much as he is. I think the team needs to move the ball around and drive it to the hoop with more authority and they can get the job done."
The Rowdies were at full force, especially early as Vandy center A.J. Ogilvy found out. When fouled, the Aussie born Ogilvy heard "U-S-A" chants and various shots toward his newly frosted hair
What seemed to shake the Vols a bit in the second half was when a tussle developed between J.P. Prince and Vandy's Andre Walker and the two were each assessed technical fouls. Everything seem to downward spiral for the Vols from then on.
Scotty Hopson fouled out late in the second half and the Vols fell to Vandy 85-76. Tennessee suffered their first home loss of the season and fell to 15-4 on the year with two losses in the conference.
Hopson slated 14 points, Prince added a career-high 22 points, and Bobby Maze chipped in with 12 points. The Vols will look to end their two game skid at home Sunday afternoon against Florida.
