Coach Rick Barnes gave a brief update on freshman forward Nate Ament’s injury following Tennessee basketball‘s 71-69 loss to Alabama on Feb. 28.

Ament was evaluated for a right leg injury and did not return to the game at Food City Center.

He exited with 7:42 in the first half after his leg got caught under a pile of players fighting for a loose ball. He warmed up with the team at halftime and started in the second half, but quickly left again after two minutes of play.

The No. 22 Vols (20-9, 10-6) were already cautious with Ament after he turned his ankle in their loss at Missouri on Jan. 24.

“I think he hurt his knee a little bit, but he did tweak his foot he had turned against Missouri, that ankle,” Barnes said after the game. “If he can’t go, then he can’t go. There’s no one tougher than him.”

Ament finished with two points on 1-of-5 shooting and three rebounds in 11 minutes of play.

“I would just say everything,” Ja’Kobi Gillespie said about where the Vols‘ felt Ament’s absence the most. “Nate does a lot on the floor that you may not notice, and he can score the ball. I feel like we missed him all around.”

Gillespie had confidence in the team’s depth if Ament can’t go in Tennessee’s next game against South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena on March 3 (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network). He pointed to Amari Evans, who stepped in for Ament and posted seven points, eight rebounds and an assist.

“I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys that can step up,” Gillespie said. “(Evans is) one of them couple of guys off the bench that can really step up and try to fill that role as best as we can.”

Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Nate Ament ‘hurt his knee a little bit,’ Tennessee coach Rick Barnes says after loss