KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 18 Tennessee never trailed on its way to capturing its fourth-straight SEC win, cruising by Ole Miss on Saturday night at Thompson-Boling Arena, 94-61.
The win was the Vols’ fifth-straight overall, giving them their longest winning streak of the season. Tennessee held its opponent to less than 65 points for the seventh-straight game, and led wire-to-wire for the third time this season.
Ole Miss (11-12, 4-6 SEC) threatened to take the lead early in the second half with a 7-0 run that cut Tennessee’s advantage to three points, but the Vols immediately answered with a 14-3 run to break away. Following that stretch, the Rebels never got closer than 12 points.
The Vols shot 71% in the second half. After missing their first two shots they went on to make 20 of their last 26 field goals.
Tennessee (17-5, 7-3 SEC) shot 53% for the game, including 13-for-29 from beyond the 3-point arc. The 13 made 3-pointers tied a season-high.
Five Vols scored in double figures, led by Lamonte Turner and Grant Williams with 17 each. Admiral Schofield chipped in 15, Kyle Alexander tied a career-high with 14, and Jordan Bowden added 10.
Turner was 5-for-6 from 3-point range, while Schofield notched a double-double with 12 rebounds to go along with his scoring production.
Bruce Stevens led Ole Miss with 17 points, and Terence Davis added 13. Deandre Burnett, who entered the game averaging 15.2 points per game, scored just seven points on 2-for-13 from the floor.
Ole Miss’ zone defense gave Tennessee fits for most of the first half, but the Vols never relinquished their lead and took a 35-25 lead into the break.
Williams and Alexander led Tennessee with eight points each in the opening stanza.
The Vols opened the game on a 12-3 run, capped off by 3-pointers from Yves Pons and James Daniel III, but the Rebels were able to cut that deficit all the way down to two at 17-15 with 7:52 remaining in the half.
From there, a 10-0 spurt helped Tennessee regain and maintain control for the rest of the first half.
UP NEXT: Tennessee looks to maintain sole possession of second place in the SEC as the Vols travel to Kentucky (Feb. 6) and to Alabama (Feb. 10). UT’s 7 p.m. tip against the Wildcats will be televised on ESPN as part of Super Tuesday.
TURNER OFF THE BENCH: For the third game in a row, Lamonté has come off the bench to score double-digit points for the Vols, dropping 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting Saturday night. The redshirt sophomore guard entered the contest as UT’s third-leading scorer on the year with 10.4 ppg.
ADMIRAL LEADING THE CHARGE: Schofield posted his second double-double of the season on Saturday with an impressive 15-point, 12-rebound performance.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Tennessee played shutdown defense Saturday, forcing 17 turnovers by the Rebels behind 11 steals and seven blocks. Ole Miss’ 61 points marks the seventh consecutive game in which UT has held its opponent to less than 65 points.
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