Badgers Turn Away Volunteers, 65-62
December 29, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin freshman Devin Harris made one of two free throw attempts with five seconds remaining, and a last-second shot by Tennessee's Thaydeus Holden rimmed out to give the Badgers a 65-62 victory today at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin, which improved to 7-6 overall with its fourth-straight victory, connected on 22 of its 26 free-throw attempts while the Vols (5-6) made just 6-of-12 from the foul line.
Four Badger players scored in double figures, including junior Kirk Penney and freshman Mike Wilkinson who had 16 and 15 points, respectively. Tennessee 's Vincent Yarbrough, who came into the game averaging 19.3 ppg, was held to a season-low 11 points and a 5-of-15 effort from the field.
Badger senior Travon Davis scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists with no turnovers.
After trailing 33-31 at halftime, Wisconsin took the lead for good after senior Charlie Wills and Penney connected on a pair of threes to give the UW a 37-36 advantage with 18:03 left in the game.
The Badgers owned their largest advantage of seven points at 60-53 with 5:21 remaining. The Volunteers cut it to 64-62 with 35 seconds on the clock and had a one-and-one opportunity at the foul line with seven seconds left, but Wisconsin's Harris tracked down the rebound after UT junior Marcus Haislip missed the front end.
Wisconsin opens its Big Ten schedule on the road this week, visiting Iowa on Wed., Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. before returning home to host Illinois for a 1:30 p.m. contest on Jan. 5.
