KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 5 Tennessee extended its winning streak in Thompson-Boling Arena to 24 games Tuesday night, defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores, 58-46.
The Vols (24-2, 12-1 SEC) held the Commodores to their lowest scoring output of the season, limiting them to just 32 percent shooting from the field. Clevon Brown was the only Vanderbilt (9-17, 0-13 SEC) player to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, and he finished with just two points on 1-of-2 shooting.
After holding a nine-point edge at half, Tennessee continued to harass Vanderbilt defensively. UT limited the Commodores to just 23.5 percent shooting (8-of-34) in the second half. The Vols’ defensive effort helped them to their 14th double-digit home victory of the season and their 10th double-digit win in conference play.
Offensively, National Player of the Year candidate Grant Williams led the way with his sixth double-double of the season, posting a game-high 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Eight of his 11 boards came in the second half, including a key offensive rebound with 1:51 on the clock, helping Tennessee salt away the victory.
The win helped Tennessee secure the season sweep over Vanderbilt. The Big Orange had previously completed home-and-home sweeps over Missouri, Florida and South Carolina.
National Player of the Year candidate Admiral Schofield helped close out the victory, as 10 of his 12 points came in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Reigning Co-SEC Player of the Year Lamonte Turner finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Bob Cousy Award candidate Jordan Boneposted a team-high six assists to go along with nine points.
With Tennessee trailing at 13-12 at the 12:47 mark of the first half, Turner hoisted a three from the right wing and knocked it down while being fouled in the process.
After the junior converted the and-one opportunity, he came back down on the next possession and drilled another from behind the arc to give the Vols a six-point advantage.
That 7-0 run from Turner was a part of a larger 11-0 run, giving Tennessee a 21-13 lead midway through the first half. The run was capped when sophomore Jalen Johnson came flying in to get an offensive rebound, laying it in with 10:20 left in the first.
The Vols grabbed seven offensive rebounds in all in the first 20 minutes. That included a stick-back slam from sophomore John Fulkerson with 7:26 on the clock, which put Tennessee back up by eight points. The Vols’ lead grew to as large as 14 points in the first half before the Big Orange took a 36-27 lead into the locker room.
After hitting his third 3-pointer of the half, Turner led UT with 10 points at the half while also having a team-high five rebounds.
Home Streak: This is the 24th-straight home win for the Vols, which marks the second-longest active home winning streak in Division I. Houston leads the country with 32 consecutive home wins.
Defense Wins Games: The Vols held the Commodores to only 46 points, marking Vanderbilt’s lowest scoring game of the season. Vanderbilt shot 32.1 percent from the field and only 23.5 percent in the second half, its second-lowest mark of the season.
Despite averaging 13 points per game this season and scoring 21 points in the first matchup, Tennessee held Vanderbilt guard Saban Lee to eight points on the night. Lee finished just 3-of-8 from the field.
Double-Double Machine: Grant Williams had another double-double performance with 14 points and 11 rebounds, marking his sixth of the season and 11th of his career. With his 14 points on the night, Williams has now scored in double-digits in 24 games this season.
Domination over the ‘Dores: UT has now won six of the last seven meetings in the series with Vanderbilt. This victory extends Tennessee’s all-time series lead to 122-75, which dates back to 1922. The Vols now have a 72-20 edge when the contest is played in Knoxville.
Up Next: Tennessee travels to Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday in a meeting of the SEC’s top two teams. Tipoff versus the LSU Tigers is scheduled for noon ET on ESPN.
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