Cameron Boozer strode to the free-throw line.
The Duke freshman already had 20 points and 22 rebounds with almost eight minutes to play against Tennessee basketball on Oct. 26. He made both free throws and jogged back down the court after one of his many acts that turned the Vols’ first public performance of the season into the Cameron Boozer show.
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No. 17 Tennessee tumbled in its first exhibition, losing 83-76 to the No. 5 Blue Devils at Food City Center.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 19 points on 5-for-21 shooting. Nate Ament shot 5-for-19 for 14 points and had 10 rebounds. The pair combined to go 3-for-18 on 3-pointers.
Tennessee opens the regular season against Mercer on Nov. 3 (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Tennessee had a problematic second-half drought
Felix Okpara scored with 10:11 to play to pull UT within 66-62. The Vols did not score again until Ament made a floater in the paint with 2:59 to play, snapping a 7:12 scoring drought.
Tennessee closed the game on a 3-for-15 stretch in the final 12 minutes, including a Gillespie steal and dunk with 37.5 seconds to play.
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The Vols used multiple offensively limited lineups for extended periods during the drought. Bishop Boswell did not score in 23 minutes, including 14 second-half minutes in which he did not attempt a shot.
Cameron Boozer stole the show
Cameron Boozer had 13 points and 15 rebounds against Tennessee − and that was only in the first half.
The freshman compiled one of the best performances in recent memory by an opposing player at Food City Center. He tallied 24 points, 23 rebounds and six assists. He had 17 defensive rebounds and six rebounds.
Tennessee’s interior scoring is a huge shift from last season
Okpara bullied through a ton of contact early in the game to score through a foul.
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He was strong offensively as were the rest of Tennessee’s post players, which backed up the belief that the Vols will have a lot more offense on the interior this season compared to last. UT’s five-man frontcourt combined to have 34 points on 16-for-20 shooting.
But most of that offense came in the first half. The group had 26 points on 12-for-14 shooting in the first half. It had eight points on 4-for-6 shooting in the second half.
Okpara and Estrella also hit a 3-pointer each, a wrinkle in UT’s offensive profile.
Buy stock in DeWayne Brown
Brown did not check in until the 6:51 mark of the first half. He made a mark immediately repeatedly.
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The freshman forward scored in transition then hustled his way to a flurry of points. He rebounded a missed 3-pointer and scored. He scurried to rebound a missed free throw and scored again.
Brown finished with 10 first-half points to lead the Vols despite playing six minutes.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball tumbles to Duke, Cameron Boozer in exhibition
