It took a long break due to heavy traffic, but Jordan Gainey saved the day for Tennessee on Saturday night.

Gainey helped top-ranked Tennessee to an impressive 66-64 victory over Illinois at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Volunteers had about five seconds left on the clock and the game was tied and had one last chance for a shot before overtime in a great non-conference battle. After catching the inbounds pass, Gainey immediately sprinted down the court and headed straight for the basket.

After traveling the length of the floor, Gainey somehow fought through everyone and made the layup before the buzzer sounded, prompting a huge cheer from the Vols and silencing the Illini crowd.

This gave the Volunteers a perfect 10-0 record, which was their best start since the 1999-2000 season.

On Saturday, the game was close throughout, but Tennessee both got into foul trouble and then largely shut down offensively when it mattered most. The Volunteers scored just after the seven-minute mark of the second half on a Jahmai Mashack layup and then failed to make another field goal over the next five minutes to allow the Illini to hang on.

Tennessee, which had fallen behind by three points at its peak, tied the game with a Gainey 3-pointer with just under two minutes left. This led to a long back and forth until the final seconds.

While Illinois had a chance to seal the deal in regulation time, Kasparas Jakucioni’s free throws after a draw foul that could have won them the game. Instead, the score remained tied and Gainey was the game winner.

Jakucionis led Illinois with 22 points and three rebounds on Saturday. Kylan Boswell finished the game with 10 points and seven rebounds and Tre White added 11 points. They shot just 4 of 23 from the 3-point line as a group.

The loss dropped Illinois to 7-3, which was its second in its last three games. The Illini beat No. 20 Wisconsin on Wednesday after losing a game to Northwestern last week. They will face Missouri next Sunday.

Gainey finished the game with a team-high 23 points off the bench while shooting 6 of 14 from the field, which was his best since landing in Knoxville. The senior, who transferred from South Carolina Upstate before the start of last season, entered Saturday averaging just 10.3 points per game.

Chaz Lanier added 17 points for the Vols and Igor Milicic finished the game with seven points and 14 rebounds. Tennessee has three games left on its schedule before SEC play begins Jan. 4, starting with Western Carolina on Tuesday. Although it’s still early, Rick Barnes’ group at Tennessee – even without star Dalton Knecht this fall – appears more than capable of keeping up with Alabama in the SEC this season. And for now, the Vols can keep their No. 1 ranking for another week.