KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan Bone and Lamonte Turner each scored 16 points, and Tennessee took an 84-53 win over High Point on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols (2-0) enjoyed an efficient night of shooting, hitting at a 47.4-percent clip from the floor to go with a 44.4-percent effort from 3-point range and a 78.3-percent night from the free-throw line. High Point (1-1) shot just 33.3 percent for the game. UT also had a 47-31 rebounding edge in the win.
Bone scored his 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Turner was 6-of-11 for the night and 4-of-7 from long distance. Junior forward Admiral Schofield scored 14 points and collected six rebounds. Sophomore forward Grant Williams added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Jahaad Proctor paced the Panthers with 17 points and Andre Fox added 13 points.
With the game tied at 7-7 just over four minutes into the game, Williams made a layup that sparked a 32-0 run over the next 11 minutes and gave the Vols a 39-7 advantage. Tuesday’s first-half hot streak marked the second time this season Tennessee has seized control of the game with an early big run. The Vols went on a 28-0 run in the first half of their win over 88-53 win over Presbyterian on Nov. 10.
Tennessee took a 52-13 lead into halftime. UT shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the floor in the first half, including a 7-for-15 effort from beyond the arc. Schofield led the Vols with 14 first-half points and Bone had 13 points. UT limited High Point to just 20.8 percent (5-for-24) shooting over the first 20 minutes and out-rebounded the Panthers, 23-10.
High Point scored 40 points in the second half, but the Panthers could not climb out of the deep hole they found themselves in. Fox (11 points) and Proctor (10 points) combined for 21 of those 40 points.
FIRST-HALF OFFENSE: UT’s 52 points in first half were the most the Vols had scored in any half since they scored 54 in the second half of a 91-74 win over Mississippi State on Jan. 21, 2017. Tennessee’s 52 first-half points were also its most since UT had a 53-31 halftime lead over Florida on Jan. 6, 2015, en route to an 83-69 win.
LOCKDOWN FIRST HALF, AGAIN: After holding Presbyterian to 14 points in the first half of the season-opener on Nov. 10, the Tennessee defense was even stingier in the first 20 minutes versus High Point. The Vols held the Panthers to just 13 points – the fewest points allowed in an opening half since Dec. 18, 2012 – when Tennessee held Presbyterian to 13 points, as well, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
DANIEL CAN DISH: Redshirt senior guard James Daniel III tallied a career-high 10 assists off the bench against High Point. The graduate transfer from Howard came to Rocky Top known for his scoring after leading the country in scoring (27.1) in 2015-16, but he made his mark on Tuesday by becoming the first Vol to record 10 assists in nearly six years – since Trae Golden had 11 versus ULM on Nov. 16, 2011. His previous career high in assists was six.
FOR THREE: Led by Lamonte Turner‘s four triples, the Vols drilled 12 3-pointers – their most treys since hitting 16 against Presbyterian on Dec. 6, 2016 (90-50 Vols win).
UP NEXT: The Vols head to Paradise Island in the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis from Nov. 22-24. UT will play Purdue on Nov. 22 at noon ET and then will face either Villanova or Western Kentucky the next day.
-UT Athletics
