Tennessee had no points immediately towards Gardner-Webb in a sport that frankly felt extra like a scrimmage matchup at Food City Center.
A fast 5-0 lead for Gardner-Webb positive didn’t final lengthy. A little bit of a sleepy begin was comprehensible on a Sunday earlier than Christmas, however Tennessee shortly threw it into gear and pulled away from the Bulldogs. Ja’Kobi Gillespie obtained issues began with a 3, then the Volunteers went to work within the paint.
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Jaylen Carey and J.P. Estrella took benefit of an apparent measurement benefit to energy a 24-2 run. Freshman Amari Evans obtained in on the motion with six fast factors on the rim, whereas fellow freshman Clarence Massamba picked up some early minutes with Ethan Burg unavailable.
Nate Ament and Troy Henderson obtained concerned with a few three-pointers of their very own to construct a 20+ level lead.
Mass subs have been the secret for Rick Barnes as he took one in every of his remaining alternatives to get everybody within the combine on this one. He performed 11 gamers within the first half alone, letting some contemporary faces construct out Tennessee’s lead earlier than halftime.
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That lead at halftime was 52-19.
Tennessee would clearly cruise from there, persevering with to beat up Gardner-Webb within the paint. Amaree Abram took over halfway via the second half, hitting a number of buckets in a row to stretch the lead. Mid-range, on the rim and a deep three — Abram discovered his groove and took over the Tennessee offense for a stretch.
Tennessee would go on to win, 94-52. For these , the Volunteers lined a 41.5 level unfold by a half level.
Tennessee was paced by Gillespie and Abram with 15 factors every. Freshman DeWayne Brown pulled down a formidable 14 rebounds. Overall, Tennessee received the rebounding battle 50-25, doubling up the undersized Bulldogs.
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The Volunteers shot 54 p.c from the sector and 10-31 from three-point vary. They held Gardner-Webb to simply 7-30 taking pictures from past the arc. Former Volunteer DJ Jefferson scored 13 factors on 5-9 taking pictures from the sector.
Tennessee dedicated 9 turnovers this afternoon, which was a strong quantity contemplating the quantity of recent lineups and faces we noticed.
The Volunteers now break for Christmas and can return to motion on December thirtieth towards South Carolina State. That would be the remaining non-conference sport of the season, main into SEC play. Tennessee will open at Arkansas on January third.