Dee Bost drove to the basket and dished it off to Wendell Lewis with 3.4 seconds left, and Lewis slammed it home — giving Cristil the chance to “wrap it in Maroon and White” one last time.
In a game that featured 11 lead changes and nine ties, the Bulldogs did not fold as Tennessee made run after run. Tennessee got out to an eight point lead early, but the Bulldogs battled back, playing good team ball and tied it up 34-34 at half-time.
Renardo Sidney only logged 10 minutes as he battled turf toe and a stomach bug. He played well in his short time, but big men Wendell Lewis and Kodi Augustus really stepped it up in his absence. Augustus went 3-6 from 3-point land and notched his eighth double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Lewis scored the game-winning basket, and he also grabbed eight rebounds and had three blocks and two steals.
MSU controlled the middle part of the second half, pushing the lead to a margin as wide as seven with an Augustus 3-pointer with 7:56 to play. Tennessee would then go on a 9-2 run and take the lead on an acrobatic Steven Pearl reverse layup with 4:24 to play. Dee Bost came up big here, on a day when he was only 5-17, he hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead and, more importantly at the time, stay in the game.
The lead changed back and forth until the final seconds of the game. MSU most assuredly wanted to finish it before overtime with injuries to freshman guard Jalen Steele and Sidney.
Senior guard Ravern Johnson returned to the starting lineup because of Steele’s torn ACL. Johnson made the most of his opportunity, leading the team in scoring with 20 points, with efficient accuracy, shooting 57 percent from the field.
Perhaps none of Johnson’s points were more crucial than his old-fashioned three point play with 2:43 left in the game after loathed Volunteer and former MSU commit Scotty Hopson put the Vols up. Johnson hit the free throw after being iced by a media timeout. The big shots have been hard to come by at times for MSU this season.
Those were Scotty Hopson’s last two points from the field, as he missed a crucial layup and went 1-2 on a crucial trip to the free throw line. Hopson finished with 22 points but belittled his performance by claiming both Bost and Lewis travelled on MSU’s game-winning possession. He was the only Volunteer to make such a claim, and Tennessee’s controversial coach, Bruce Pearl, praised Bost’s play in the final possession.
After MSU won, the entire team made its way to the announcer’s table and gave Jack Cristil high fives, something the influential voice of the Bulldogs will not soon forget.
According to MSU media relations, Rick Stansbury directly credited Cristil for his part in the win.
“These guys had a little something extra in them tonight, and that was because of you,” Stansbury said. “We were disappointed Wednesday night that we couldn’t send you out a winner in the Hump. But really, we couldn’t have picked a better place to go on the road in this league to fight and find a way to win a game on the road. And Jack, this one was all for you.”
Tennessee honored Cristil before the game, and he had numerous acquaintances come and speak to him before the game.
He was lost for words at one point in the pregame after talking with Stansbury, and as a lifelong fan who has grown up listening to Jack Cristil’s voice, I hope everyone remembers how he has represented our university during his 58 years. I will certainly miss having him call MSU football and basketball, and I feel sorry for Bulldog fans in the future who will miss out on his old-school, but extremely professional approach of calling games.