Tennessee Vols: Lamonte Turner's 5 best moments at UT
Tennessee Vols senior guard Lamonte Turner announced on Saturday, after UT's 75-53 win against Jacksonville State, that he's played his last game in orange and white. Turner made the decision to have surgery on his shoulder, ending his Vol career. The Alabama native, who scored eight points and handed out 11 assists in Tennessee's win […]
Tennessee Vols senior guard Lamonte Turner announced on Saturday, after UT's 75-53 win against Jacksonville State, that he's played his last game in orange and white.
Turner made the decision to have surgery on his shoulder, ending his Vol career.
The Alabama native, who scored eight points and handed out 11 assists in Tennessee's win on Saturday night, finished his UT career with a career scoring average of 10.2 points per game.
Turner's imprint on Tennessee basketball, however, can't be fully defined by stats.
Clutch moments are what fans will remember the most about Turner. And he had plenty of them.
Here are five of Turner's best moments in a Vol jersey.
Final 10 minutes of win against Georgia in 2018
Turner started the Vols' regular season finale in 2018 with an airball, but he finished the game with some clutch shooting that helped Tennessee clinch a share of the SEC regular season championship.
In the final ten minutes, Turner buried three extremely important three-pointers. The first tied the game at 49. The second gave the Volunteers the lead back after Georgia had taken a 53-52 lead. The third was arguably the most important.
Turner sunk a three to bring the Vols to within one point of Georgia with 2:31 left in the game. Tennessee went on to win 66-61.
Game tying shot against Purdue to force overtime
Tennessee's win against Purdue in November, 2017 was a sign that the Vols were ready to make some noise that season.
Purdue was ranked No. 18 when Tennessee and the Boilermakers met in the Bahamas (in the midst of a UT football coaching search nonetheless).
With the Vols trailing by three in the final moments of regulation, Turner connected on a corner three to tie the game. Tennessee would win 78-75 in overtime to start the season 3-0.
Vols take the lead at Rupp Arena
Most college coaches/players would probably say there's nothing like beating Kentucky — especially on the road.
For Tennessee, this is particularly true.
In 2018, a clutch Turner three with 26 seconds to go gave the Vols a 59-58 lead over the Wildcats in Rupp Arena.
Talk about a crowd silencer. Tennessee won the game 61-59 to improve to 18-5. The Vols would lose the next week to Alabama, but the win against Kentucky was a key moment in Tennessee's march to a regular season SEC championship.
Turner lifts the Vols to a buzzer beater win against VCU
Walk-offs aren't just for baseball.
After a tough loss against unranked Florida State, the Vols needed to get back on solid ground.
With the score knotted at 69 with 1.7 seconds left against VCU, Turner called game and got Tennessee back in the win column. His clutch buzzer beating three-pointer was a thrilling way to end the Emerald Coast Classic.
After the game, Turner told reporters "I'm just trying to make a play for my team and honestly I just kind of get locked in and it just kind of happens."
Turner breaks the hearts of Kentucky fans
In 2019, Tennessee was down by eight against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament semifinals with three minutes to go.
And Lamonte Turner was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Suffice it to say, the odds didn't seem to be in the Vols' favor.
But with 29 seconds to play, after UT had closed the gap to one point, Turner hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Volunteers a 78-76 lead.
Tennessee would go on to win the game 82-78. They'd lose to Auburn in the SEC Tournament Championship game, but Turner's clutch shot against the Wildcats stood as one of the highlights of the decade for the Vols.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
