J.P. Estrella scored 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and collected 10 rebounds to help No. 20 Tennessee roll to a 99-66 victory over North Florida on Wednesday night in nonconference play at Knoxville, Tenn.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 21 points and seven assists and Nate Ament had 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Volunteers (3-0).
Kent Jackson scored 16 points for the Ospreys (0-2), who lost their opener by 40 points to then-No. 3 Florida, another Southeastern Conference program. North Florida’s Kamrin Oriol and Devin Hines added 11 points apiece.
The Volunteers connected on 52.1% of their shots, including 8 of 27 (29.6%) from 3-point range. Gillespie made four of the treys, on 10 attempts. Tennessee had a dominating 52-24 rebounding advantage.
North Florida shot 38.5% from the field and was 10 of 35 (28.6%) from behind the arc. Mason Lee recorded four steals.
Estrella had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half as Tennessee led 47-30 at the break.
The Volunteers used an early 13-2 burst to take a 16-9 lead before the Ospreys answered.
North Florida went on a 10-2 burst and moved ahead at 19-18 on a tip-in by Hines at the midway point of the half.
The lead changed hands again twice as Gillespie and Jackson sank 3-pointers.
Tennessee couldn’t shake North Florida, and BJ Plummer hit a jumper to bring the Ospreys within 32-30 with 6:13 left before the break. However, North Florida didn’t score again until early in the second half.
The Volunteers scored the final 15 of the first half as part of a 19-0 surge. Estrella put the finishing touches on the first half with a dunk before Ament and Cade Phillips began the second half with slams.
Lee buried a 3-pointer to end the Tennessee run and the North Florida scoring drought with 18:20 remaining in the game.
The Volunteers slowly added to their lead, and the advantage eventually reached 30 when Gillespie knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 84-54 with 6:15 left.
Tennessee’s lead topped out at 34 points.
–Field Level Media
