Tennessee Survives Mississippi State Rally Behind Late Surge from Freshman Nate Ament
Tennessee walked into a raucous Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night and looked every bit the part of a team ready to cruise. The Vols built a commanding 23-point lead over Mississippi State, seemingly in total control.
But what looked like a blowout quickly turned into a battle, with the Bulldogs clawing back to within five points late in the second half. Then, just when it looked like the momentum might fully swing, Tennessee’s freshman forward Nate Ament stepped into the spotlight.
Ament scored eight of Tennessee’s final 10 points, including two emphatic and-ones that helped snuff out Mississippi State’s furious comeback. His poise in crunch time gave the Vols the breathing room they needed, fueling an 8-0 run that ultimately sealed a 73-64 win on the road.
Ament finished the night with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds - a performance that felt bigger than the box score. He played like a veteran in the game’s most critical stretch, and that’s not something you often say about a freshman playing in a hostile SEC environment.
He wasn’t alone in carrying the load for Tennessee. Senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the team with 18 points, adding five assists, four rebounds and a steal.
Redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella chipped in with 12 points, seven boards and three blocks, continuing to be a steady presence in the paint.
This win marks Tennessee’s sixth in its last eight games, and while it wasn’t perfect - the near-collapse will certainly be a point of emphasis in film study - it was another example of the Vols finding ways to win in tough spots.
For Mississippi State, the story was Josh Hubbard - and then everyone else.
Hubbard put on a scoring clinic, dropping a game-high 31 points and accounting for 17 of the Bulldogs’ first 20. His early explosion kept Mississippi State in the game during Tennessee’s opening blitz, and his relentless effort gave the Bulldogs a fighting chance. But he was the only MSU player to reach double figures, and that lack of offensive balance proved costly.
After the game, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans didn’t mince words. He pointed to Tennessee’s physicality and his team’s early defensive breakdowns as key reasons for the loss.
“We just weren’t in the right spots,” Jans said. “They were dunking the ball four or five times in the first few minutes.
That gives the other team confidence. It makes the bench feel good.
The coaches feel good.”
Jans acknowledged that Hubbard’s hot start - and the team’s awareness to feed him - kept things close early. But he also noted a critical stretch late in the first half where Tennessee created separation with a 7-0 run, capitalizing on defensive miscues and missed assignments.
When asked about the team’s offensive inconsistency beyond Hubbard, Jans didn’t shy away from the issue.
“We’ve had stretches like that all year,” he said. “It’s not foreign to us.”
He did point to moments in the second half where other players stepped up - Quincy Ballard, Jayden Epps, and Ja’Borri McGhee each had flashes - but the Bulldogs never found a consistent rhythm as a group.
The bigger concern for Jans? The team’s inconsistency - not just from game to game, but within games.
“If I could fix that, we’d be in a better mood,” he said, candidly. “You’ve got to play like that from the jump. It can’t just be when we’re down 15 and trying to claw back.”
Jans also spoke about the physical nature of facing Tennessee, likening it to a fist fight - and not a metaphorical one.
“You either step in the ring or not, because they’re gonna drag you in there,” he said. “They set as physical screens as you’re gonna see, not just in our league, but anywhere.”
He praised Tennessee’s old-school approach - the off-ball screens, the motion principles, the rugged style that demands toughness on every possession. Mississippi State, he said, had stretches where they matched that energy, especially in the second half. But it wasn’t sustained.
“You better put your helmet on and be willing to do what it takes,” Jans said. “We didn’t do it for forty minutes.”
The Bulldogs did have one major bright spot - an 18-0 run in the second half that nearly flipped the game on its head. But Jans wasn’t about to hang his hat on a moral victory.
“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll get discussed tomorrow,” he said. “But that ain’t necessarily gonna help us win the next game.”
That next game? A rivalry rematch on the road at Ole Miss. Mississippi State dropped the first meeting at home by a single point, and Jans made it clear that one still stings.
“We get another crack to even the score,” he said. “I’m sure by tomorrow morning, we’ll be ready to attack that.”
For Tennessee, it’s another road win in SEC play - and another lesson in closing out games. For Mississippi State, it’s a reminder that one elite scorer can keep you close, but it takes a full team effort to finish the job.