Brandon Huntley-Hatfield Impresses as Vols Heavily Out-Rebound Auburn and Win to Remain Perfect at Home

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 17 Tennessee Vols defeated No. 3 Auburn on Saturday night behind a feisty, roaring Thompson-Boling Arena crowd and a stellar second-half defensive performance. 

The Tigers gave the Vols trouble early, as a Jabari Smith-led Auburn squad caught fire for a 13-0 run when the Vols led by six with six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. Tennessee could not retake the lead before the break, and Auburn led the orange and white by six points after a go-ahead Jabari Smith three-pointer heading into halftime. 

Overall in the first twenty minutes, Tennessee struggled to contain Smith's explosiveness, as the star forward scored 11 points and shot 50 percent from the field. In addition, the Vols' offense experienced one of their common cold stretches in the first half, and Tennessee went into the locker room shooting 28 percent with only two three-pointers. 

"In the first half, when we did have a little bit of a lead, we had two blunders that you can't have, turnovers and going out of bounds," Barnes said regarding trailing at the end of the first half. 

But Tennessee tweaked some things during the break and played much better defensively in the second half, and once the Vols' offense was able to drain some shots, Tennessee finally regained the lead. Not to mention, the Thompson-Boling Arena crowd erupted once the Vols started hitting shots. 

And the play that jumpstarted the Tennessee 11-point run to tie the ball game five minutes into the second half was made by Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. 

And it happened in the most surprising way possible, as the 6'10" freshman forward hit a three-pointer to get every member of Vol Nation on their feet. The triple from BHH was his second made three of the entire season, with his first coming against UT Martin in the season opener. 

After the three, Huntley-Hatfield wasn't done. 

The Clarksville, Tennessee, native performed a putback dunk when the Vols were trailing by five points. His slam came in Tennessee's 11-0 run that eventually tied the ball game. 

When asked about his favorite play on the night, Huntley-Hatfield had to give the nod to the ground shaking dunk. 

“I would probably say the putback dunk," BHH said of his favorite play. "I feel like the putback dunk was the highlight of the night for me.”

Junior guard Santiago Vescovi also mentioned the play when applauding the freshman's performance. 

"He is starting to show how physical he can play and be," Vescovi said of Huntley-Hatfield. "I think tonight he showed it and was a warrior out there. He did a great job rebounding and had a putback dunk on Jabari Smith. He did a good job overall and gives a lot of hope for us and others about what he can be in the future and the next few games.”

Huntley-Hatfield has compiled two of his best games of the season in back-to-back efforts, as the freshman logged a (then) conference play-high 18 minutes and six rebounds against Mizzou. 

Due to his recent success, Rick Barnes is becoming more confident in the freshman, leading to increased comfort on the court for BHH.

“Him letting me know that he has confidence in me feels good," Huntley-Hatfield said. "He has confidence that I can help the team win. I’m just trying to build on these last two games and keep it going.”

Huntley-Hatfield's five points on the night may have been Tennessee's most significant plays, as BHH's three and dunk sent the crowd into a frenzy that fueled Tennessee's eventual win. 

"They’ve made a difference," Barnes said regarding the crowd. "Our student section has been outstanding."

The environment at TBA on Saturday night was huge for the Vols. When asked if he wanted to give a final statement to the media following the game, Santiago Vescovi sent a message to the Tennessee fanbase to support next Saturday as well against Arkansas.