News bulletin: Tennessee defeated Texas A&M, 87-82, in double overtime at Food City Center. It was not a beauty contest.

Matter of fact: Officially, this was just a Southeastern Conference struggle. It was a slugfest, a battle royale, three hours and three minutes, all in the combat zone. There were 53 fouls.

Descriptive quote: Felix Okpara said “Yes, I’m tired.”

Key stat: Nate Ament scored 10 of Tennessee’s 16 points in the extra periods. He looked like he was in charge.

Other numbers: The Vols trailed by 11 in the first half and were still down by nine in the second. They finally got a first lead with 5:29 left to play.

Both teams missed many shots. The Vols finished at 37.3 percent, the Aggies 36.4. Tennessee endured 19 turnovers. The Aggies had 20. They made 13 threes. Rebounding domination (59-33) saved the game for the Vols. Eight of 10 free throws made a wonderful difference in the extra periods.

In the second overtime, Bishop Boswell hit a pair for an 81-79 lead. Jaylen Carey powered in a rebound basket with 1:14 to go. He later added a free throw. Ament hit two in the closing seconds.

The big crowd finally took a deep breath.

Forward Jaylen Carey #23 finds no basket comes easy against the Texas A&M Aggies on January 13 at Food City Center. (Photo by Andrew Ferguson/ Tennessee Athletics)

“I’m really proud of the guys,” said Rick Barnes. “Just their grit. It was really neat in the huddle with them. They stayed together; they kept finding a way.”

The coach said he knew it wasn’t going to be the prettiest game.

“We haven’t played against a style like that all year, but we found a way.”

Ament eventually found his way. For most of 30 minutes, he looked like what he is, a developing freshman. He missed three of four shots. He had four turnovers. The Aggies’ press really troubled him.

I don’t know what happened but he finished with 23 points, nine of 11 free throws, seven rebounds and a crucial blocked shot. When it mattered most, Barnes ran the offense to or through Ament.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie had an up-and-down game. He made two of 11 three-point attempts. He was five of 19 overall. He made a poor decision on the last play of regulation, a step-back throw for three instead of trying to get the ball inside.

On the plus side, he had six steals and five assists. He made six of eight free throws.

Boswell was a warrior. He contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds. Okpara scored 10 points, missed one shot and won 12 rebounds.

He said the theme for the fight was “crash the glass.”

Carey had 10 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen, a struggling 52-percent free thrower, hit four of six. Cheers.

Rapidly improving freshman Troy Henderson hit a pair of threes and twice stole the ball from Aggies.

Barnes said something happened to Ament that allowed him to “start seeing the game totally differently. His ball-handling was certainly a big key in the second half.”

His overall play was very big in the overtimes.

Barnes said Carey came up with some big plays.

“I thought Felix was excellent. Bishop, after the game he had Saturday, came back and made some really big plays, rebounded the ball.

“Everybody that played made a difference in the game. Troy got his most significant minutes and his three was huge. He played with the kind of confidence that we liked.”

Coach, what about those freshmen?

“I think we grew up a little bit more tonight. I don’t think at any point since we started with this group did we ever practice with three freshmen (on the court), thinking they’d be in the minutes that they’re in. But they’ve earned it.”

Scoring leader for Texas A&M was Jacari Lane with 29. Interesting was former Spanish professional player Ruben Dominguez. He made four of 11 threes and didn’t bother with any twos.

Kentucky will be at Food City Center on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats have had their share of troubles. They lost to Missouri in Rupp Arena for the first time – in history.

Point guard Jaland Lowe is gone for the season. He has had shoulder surgery.

Tipoff at noon.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com

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