Tennessee's Detrick Mostella was selected as the SEC men's basketball Player of the Week on Monday after one of the best all-around performances of his career last Thursday.
Mostella scored a career-high 25 points off the bench to lift Tennessee to a 72-68 road win at ETSU in front of a capacity crowd at Freedom Hall Civic Center.
Mostella’s play may well have been the difference for the Vols, who were making their first trip to Johnson City since 1963.
The Decatur, Ala., native caught fire at the end of a tight, low-scoring first half, scoring 13 consecutive points over the final 2:33 of the opening frame. The junior guard capped the flurry with a deep, contested 3-pointer from the wing with four seconds remaining in the period that sent UT into the locker room with its largest lead of the game at 32-23.
Mostella scored 12 points in the second half and put the finishing touches on Tennessee’s win when he converted two free throws with 1:11 left, breaking a 65-65 deadlock. After a UT defensive stop, he then knocked down the decisive jumper at the elbow, essentially icing the game by giving the Vols a two-possession advantage with only 29 seconds remaining.
Over Tennessee's last three games, Mostella is averaging 17.7 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting .462 from the field, .381 from 3-point range and .900 from the free-throw line.
He is UT’s third-leading scorer at 10.0 points per game, and he has come off the bench to score in double figures six times this season, including a pair of 20-point games).
Mostella becomes the second Vol this season to earn an SEC weekly award, as Jordan Bowden was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 12.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)