National Basketball Association
Tennessee 79, Appalachian St. 38
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Pat Driscoll, # Don Daily, # John Hampton
Attendance:
4191
By Field Level Media
Victor Bailey Jr. had 13 points while John Fulkerson and prized freshman Jaden Springer each scored 12 as No. 10 Tennessee rolled to a 79-38 win over visiting Appalachian State on Tuesday night in Knoxville.
Josiah-Jordan James added 11 for the Volunteers (3-0), who have been limited to just three games due to COVID-19 issues. However, Tennessee was in control from the start, and did so with a stifling defense that's among the best in the nation, allowing an average of 47.0 points.
Tennessee shot 49.3 percent after making 33.9-percent of its shots in opening the season with wins over Cincinnati and Colorado. More impressively, it never gave the Mountaineers (4-2) any room to build an offensive rhythm as they shot 27.9 percent for the game and committed 18 turnovers.
The Vols opened with 13-0 run, and Appalachian State did not score its first points until a Kendall Lewis free throw with 13:38 left in the first half. Its first field goal did not come until Michael Almonacy's bucket made it 16-4 at the 12:31 mark.
The Volunteers used an 18-2 spurt to go up 36-8 with under 3 minutes to play in the first half and led 36-13 at the break thanks to the defensive play of Yves Pons (seven points, six rebounds, two steals) and offensive work of Fulkerson, who scored eight first-half points.
Appalachian State missed 18-of-22 shots, went 0-for-10 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 10 times through the first 20 minutes.
A pair of baskets from Bailey highlighted a 9-0 run early in the second half that put Tennessee up 45-16 with 17 minutes to go in the contest. Bailey made 3-of-4 shots to push the Vols ahead 57-25 with just under 11 minutes to play in the game as they continued to roll the rest of the second half.
Almonacy led the Mountaineers with nine points. Appalachian State played without Justin Forrest, who averaged 17.3 points last season but is off to a slow start in 2020-21 while dealing with a concussion.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Appalachian St. |
|
Tennessee |
|
Michael Almonacy 9 |
Scoring |
Victor Bailey Jr. 13 |
|
Michael Almonacy 3 |
Assists |
Santiago Vescovi 4 |
|
Michael Almonacy 6 |
Rebounds |
Josiah-Jordan James 8 |
|
Donovan Gregory 3 |
Free Throws Made |
E.J. Anosike 2 |
|
Michael Almonacy 1 |
Steals |
Keon Johnson 4 |
|
Adrian Delph 1 |
Blocks |
John Fulkerson 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Appalachian St.
|
38 |
27.9 |
5-21 |
9-15 |
4 |
24 |
3 |
2 |
18 |
| Tennessee
|
79 |
49.3 |
6-18 |
7-9 |
12 |
40 |
5 |
13 |
6 |
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