Tennessee University rookie, Felix Okpara was in top form and helped his side romp to an 83-62 triumph against Louisville in USA’s collegiate basketball league, Sports247 reports.
Okpara and his colleagues soared on the tactical instructions of their coach, Rick Barnes, who has not dropped four games in a row since his first season at Tennessee in 2015/16.
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Barnes’ loud voice had Okpara and his pals firing on all cylinders, charging down on every ball, as if winning the title this season depended on this game, but they still lie lowly at 20th spot in USA’s NCAAB 25-team log.
Tennessee (8-3) practically built a wall inside the 3-point line, forcing Louisville (9-2) to settle for far too many deep 3s, leaving The Cardinals shooting only 7-of-34 from beyond the arc.
The Volunteers then made a big move at the beginning of the second half with four 3s in the first five minutes, as Ja’Kobi Gillespie hit six points in several Tennessee possessions ending in long-range shots to reach 53-38.
Okpara, who was born in Lagos on April 20, 2004, put the exclamation point on a bounce-back victory with a pair of signature slams in the game’s waning moments, the second of which came on an alley-oop by Carey.
It was a posterizer that also preceded a big-time block of Wooley at the other end, as Carey had three assists that paired nicely with his double-double and he beat the drum for an emphatic outing from The Volunteers’ bench.
With a bench that outscored The Cardinals’ reserves 34-3, Okpara’s side were the more efficient offensive team on the day, mostly because of their reviving defense that kicked into gear at the right time.
