No. 20 Tennessee beats Rice 91-66, but Estrella injured
AP
Nov 17, 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Felix Okpara had 20 points and eight rebounds, Nate Ament added 19 points and 10 boards, and No. 20 Tennessee Volunteers cruised to a 91-66 victory over Rice Owls on Monday night despite an injury to forward J.P. Estrella.
The 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore went down in a scrum of bodies in the first half and appeared to hurt his left knee.
Estrella entered averaging 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season. He missed most of last season with a foot injury.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished with 17 points and eight assists for the Volunteers (4-0). Ethan Berg scored 11.
Nick Anderson led the Owls (2-3) with 19 points. Cam Carroll scored 14 and Jalen Smith had 10.
Gillespie had 10 points at halftime to lead the Vols to a 39-26 advantage.
When the Owls arrived Monday at Thompson-Boling Arena, coach Rob Lanier didn't need anyone to show him around. Lanier was an assistant under Volunteers coach Rick Barnes for eight years - four at Texas (2011-15) and four at Tennessee (2015-19). Lanier is one of 16 former Barnes assistants to become head coaches.
The win over Rice was No. 840 of Barnes' career, which covers 39 years.
Tennessee starting guard Bishop Boswell missed his second consecutive game with a left leg injury sustained in practice. His status is day-to-day.
Rice: Will face Tarleton State at home Thursday.
Tennessee: Will host Tennessee State on Thursday.
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1st Half
RICE
Owls
26
TENN
Volunteers
39
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Trae Broadnax vs. Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Ja'Kobi Gillespie gains possession)
19:54
+2
Nate Ament makes two point jump shot
0-2
19:38
Trae Broadnax misses two point jump shot
19:36
Owls offensive rebound
19:24
Owls turnover
19:12
Nate Ament misses three point jump shot
19:10
Felix Okpara offensive rebound
18:53
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. personal foul
18:39
+2
Felix Okpara makes two point layup (Amaree Abram assists)
0-4
18:14
+2
Jalen Smith makes two point jump shot
2-4
17:57
Amaree Abram misses two point layup
17:55
Nick Anderson defensive rebound
17:55
Cade Phillips personal foul
17:47
Trae Broadnax misses three point jump shot
17:44
Amaree Abram defensive rebound
17:38
Felix Okpara misses three point jump shot
17:34
Trae Broadnax defensive rebound
17:26
Trae Broadnax misses two point layup
17:24
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. offensive rebound
17:24
Nate Ament personal foul
17:24
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2
17:24
+1
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
3-4
17:05
+2
Felix Okpara makes two point dunk (Ja'Kobi Gillespie assists)
3-6
16:49
Trae Broadnax misses three point jump shot
16:47
Felix Okpara defensive rebound
16:34
Nate Ament misses two point jump shot
16:32
Owls defensive rebound
16:26
Ethan Burg personal foul
16:26
+1
Trae Broadnax makes regular free throw 1 of 2
4-6
16:26
+1
Trae Broadnax makes regular free throw 2 of 2
5-6
16:10
J.P. Estrella misses two point layup
16:08
Volunteers offensive rebound
16:06
+2
Felix Okpara makes two point dunk (Ja'Kobi Gillespie assists)
5-8
15:42
Dallas Hobbs misses three point jump shot
15:40
Ja'Kobi Gillespie defensive rebound
15:28
+2
J.P. Estrella makes two point layup (Felix Okpara assists)
5-10
15:25
TV timeout
15:06
Trae Broadnax misses three point jump shot
15:04
Stephen Giwa offensive rebound
14:55
Trae Broadnax misses three point jump shot
14:53
J.P. Estrella defensive rebound
14:45
Nate Ament misses three point jump shot
14:43
Ethan Burg offensive rebound
14:35
Ja'Kobi Gillespie misses two point layup
14:33
Eternity Eguagie defensive rebound
14:16
Trae Broadnax misses three point jump shot
14:14
Felix Okpara defensive rebound
13:53
Ja'Kobi Gillespie misses three point jump shot
13:51
Felix Okpara offensive rebound
13:50
Eternity Eguagie personal foul
13:50
Ja'Kobi Gillespie turnover (Dallas Hobbs steals)
13:33
+2
Cam Carroll makes two point jump shot
7-10
13:17
+3
Ethan Burg makes three point jump shot (Amaree Abram assists)
7-13
12:53
Jalen Smith turnover (Amaree Abram steals)
12:44
Amaree Abram turnover
12:44
Owls turnover
12:41
Ethan Burg misses two point layup
12:39
Owls defensive rebound
12:24
Jalen Smith turnover (Amaree Abram steals)
12:17
+2
Amaree Abram makes two point layup (Jaylen Carey assists)
7-15
11:44
+2
Stephen Giwa makes two point dunk (Cam Carroll assists)
9-15
11:24
J.P. Estrella misses two point jump shot
11:22
Jaylen Carey offensive rebound
11:12
+2
Jaylen Carey makes two point tip layup
9-17
11:03
Jalen Smith misses three point jump shot
11:01
Stephen Giwa offensive rebound
10:53
Nick Anderson misses two point jump shot
10:51
Jaylen Carey defensive rebound
10:45
+2
J.P. Estrella makes two point dunk (Jaylen Carey assists)
9-19
10:26
Dallas Hobbs turnover
10:24
TV timeout
10:14
+2
Jaylen Carey makes two point layup (Amaree Abram assists)
9-21
9:50
Andrew Akuchie turnover (Nate Ament steals)
9:40
Amaree Abram turnover
9:18
+3
Jalen Smith makes three point jump shot
12-21
9:05
+2
Nate Ament makes two point jump shot (Amaree Abram assists)
12-23
8:44
Nick Anderson misses three point jump shot
8:42
Trae Broadnax offensive rebound
8:22
Troy Henderson shooting foul (Jimmy Oladokun Jr. draws the foul)
8:22
+1
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2
13-23
8:22
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2
8:22
Trae Broadnax offensive rebound
8:09
Nick Anderson misses three point jump shot
8:07
Felix Okpara defensive rebound
7:48
Nate Ament turnover (Nick Anderson steals)
7:40
+2
Nick Anderson makes two point layup
15-23
7:28
Felix Okpara misses two point jump shot
7:26
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. defensive rebound
7:11
Nick Anderson misses two point jump shot
7:09
Nate Ament defensive rebound
6:58
Amaree Abram misses three point jump shot
6:56
Andrew Akuchie defensive rebound
6:41
+3
Nick Anderson makes three point jump shot (Trae Broadnax assists)
18-23
6:36
TV timeout
6:22
+2
Ja'Kobi Gillespie makes two point layup
18-25
5:51
Jalen Smith misses two point jump shot
5:49
Cade Phillips defensive rebound
5:21
+3
Ja'Kobi Gillespie makes three point jump shot (Ethan Burg assists)