Terrence Hill Jr. scored 19 points and added five rebounds and five assists as No. 11 Tennessee held off Tennessee State for an 83-78 victory Friday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Volunteers (3-0) led 42-37 at halftime and by as many as 15 points in the second half before holding off the Tigers (2-2). Tennessee shot 43% from the field while limiting Tennessee State to 32%.
Jalen Haralson scored 15 points, while Tyler Lundblade had 14 points and went 9-for-9 at the line. Dai Dai Ames had 11 points, and Juke Harris recorded eight points and 10 rebounds.
Tennessee extended its nonconference home winning streak to 47 games.
Tennessee State’s Ty-Laur Johnson had a game-high 22 points, seven assists and five boards. Jayden Jones posted 13 points and nine rebounds.
Tennessee State scored the first five points on a 3-pointer by Deondrea Lindsey and two free throws by Johnson before Ames got the Volunteers on the board with a 3-pointer at 17:07.
Tennessee State extended its lead to 11-5, but Ames sparked the Volunteers’ response, scoring 11 of their first 13 points as Tennessee moved ahead 13-11 with 11:29 remaining in the half.
Arterio Morris hit a 3-pointer to put Tennessee State ahead 21-16 with 9:33 left, but Hill converted a four-point play and Braedan Lue added a dunk as Tennessee rallied for a 28-25 lead.
The Volunteers opened a 40-32 lead before Aaron Bradshaw’s 3-pointer from the top of the key helped the Tigers trim the deficit to 42-37 at halftime.
The Tigers’ hopes were hampered when Bradshaw committed his fourth foul within the first five minutes of the second half, and Tennessee extended the margin to 11 at 51-40.
Tennessee increased its defensive pressure to create easier scoring opportunities, but Daniel Vieira-Tuck’s breakaway reverse dunk cut the Volunteers’ lead to 58-49 with just under 10 minutes remaining.
The game tightened to 73-66 on Jayden Jones’ layup with 3:38 left as the Tigers sank seven straight field goals, but Tennessee State got no closer than five in the final minutes.
–Field Level Media
