Chris Lofton, Kevin Durant and the Tennessee basketball comeback vs Texas in 2006

Chris Lofton settled in for lunch at Texas Roadhouse on Tuesday. Then it happened again.

“You are Chris, right?” asked the server in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Tennessee basketball legend confirmed he was. She shared that she's from a family of Tennessee fans although she's a Kentucky fan. Then the dialogue went where it often does.

“I remember that shot against KD,” she said.

Lofton has heard the comments constantly for years about the shot, the falling 3-pointer over future NBA superstar Kevin Durant of Texas. They're some variation of "that is my favorite shot," "I remember where I was when you made that shot" or "I was there to see it."

No. 4 Tennessee (17-3) is hosting No. 10 Texas (17-3) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN) for the first time since that scintillating afternoon 17 years ago, punctuated by Lofton’s shot that stands as one of the iconic moments in Vols basketball history.

Rick Barnes' Texas Longhorns gave Tennessee problems

Tennessee hosted Texas on Dec. 23, 2006, before a three-day Christmas break arrived.

The marquee showdown, the back end of a home-and-home series with the Rick Barnes-coached Longhorns, started horribly. Texas controlled the Vols, who went without a field goal for more than nine minutes in the first half and fell behind 50-35 at halftime.

“I just remember us being down big and thinking, 'Dang, are they going to ruin our Christmas break?' ” Lofton said. “I just knew we had to come back and win so we could have a good Christmas break.”

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Durant, the 6-foot-9 freshman phenom and future No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft, caused havoc. He finished with 26 points and eight rebounds.

The Vols stormed back in the second half fueled by Lofton and Duke Crews, a freshman forward who took on the opportunity to match up with the D.C. native Durant. Crews, a Hampton, Virginia, product, had 16 second-half points — a memory that stood out to Bruce Pearl.

“They had competed against each other,” said Pearl, who was the coach at UT from 2005-11. “He became one of the greatest players in the game.”

Wayne Chism, JaJuan Smith and Ramar Smith joined Lofton and Crews to get UT within one point. It fell behind by eight with less than three minutes to play, setting the stage for Crews and Lofton. Crews scored twice.

Lofton, who had 35 points and seven 3-pointers, hit a 3-pointer to pull the Vols within two with a minute to play.

“It was the combination of a young team and a great leader in Dane Bradshaw, a couple of freshmen that really stepped up and having the best shooter in the building,” Pearl said.

Chris Lofton, Kevin Durant and the shot no one forgets

Bradshaw, a senior guard in 2006, had seen the move thousands of times. Lofton rocked with the ball, hit the defender with a little hesitation with his left shoulder, and had the space he needed.

With 24.7 seconds left, Bradshaw saw it began. Lofton got the ball on the wing. He dribbled toward the top of the key and Durant switched onto him. Lofton dribbled back and back some more as Durant mirrored his movements.

“You never doubted Chris, but you did feel like boy that might have been a little bit too deep,” said Bradshaw, who was battling an illness and on the bench for Lofton's shot.

Tennessee trailed 87-85 with 20.4 seconds to play when the 6-2 Lofton let it fly, leaning back enough to get the shot off over the taller Durant.

“I just remember that we needed a go-ahead bucket,” Lofton said. “That is the stuff I work for, the hours in the gym before and after practice and in the summer. That is the moment you live for. I was ready for it.”

Lofton’s 3-pointer from 30-some feet settled into the net with 18.1 seconds to go to put Tennessee ahead by one and the moment into UT folklore. It was Tennessee's first lead since an 11-10 edge in the first half.

“Most people forget what happened after that,” Bradshaw said. “That shot was so amazing that you were almost like dagger, game over, Chris called game on Durant. In fact, there was a lot of basketball to be played after that.”

Tennessee finished the comeback and swept the home-and-home

Pearl points to Dec. 17, 2005, as a turning point early in his Tennessee tenure. The Vols went to Austin, Texas, and upset the sixth-ranked Longhorns 95-78. It was, in Pearl’s eyes, the moment “when the kids started to believe.”

That belief carried into the following season, Pearl’s second in Knoxville. It was present as Tennessee and Texas went to overtime after a Ramar Smith free throw and a Durant layup tied the game at 89.

“People were nervous about missing their flight home,” Lofton said. “I was thinking, ‘I am good. I am driving. I have nothing to worry about.’ ”

Neither did Tennessee. It had Lofton. Lofton made a 3-pointer on the first overtime possession. Tennessee scored on its first four possessions, delivering a knockout sequence to the Longhorns in front of a roaring Thompson-Boling Arena.

“The crowds came back and the curtains came down," Pearl said.

UT scored 22 points in overtime and won 111-105. Lofton had one of the early legendary performances in his historic career. Durant posted a tribute to Lofton on Twitter when his No. 5 jersey was retired on Jan. 14, calling Lofton "one of the best competitors I’ve been on the court with."

Lofton's famous 3-pointer has seemingly risen to a more storied status as Durant has become one of the best players in NBA history. But on a December afternoon in Knoxville, Lofton was the best player on the court.

His 35 points against Texas stood as a career high among his 2,131 points — three of which will stand forever.

"There are certain moments that last forever in fans’ minds," Bradshaw said.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.