Yves Pons scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half to help No. 21 Tennessee build a 21-point lead on the way to a 72-43 rout of Florida A&M on Wednesday night at Knoxville, Tenn.

John Fulkerson scored 15 points, and Olivier Nkamhoua had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Volunteers (7-1), who led by as many as 34 points in the second half.

Evins Desir had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Rattlers (0-7). Florida A&M failed to get closer than 19 points in the second half, or within 27 points during the final 9:53.

Pons shot 4 of 6 and grabbed six rebounds, and Lamonte Turner added 10 points as Tennessee led 39-18 after a first half it dominated in every way.

The Volunteers outdid the Rattlers in the first half in rebounding (21-11), points in the paint (24-6) and fastbreak points (4-0). Tennessee also had eight offensive rebounds that produced 12 second-chance points, and it committed just five turnovers, compared to Florida A&M's 12 turnovers that led to 14 Volunteers points.

The only obvious blemishes among the Vols' first-half statistics was hitting just 9 of 14 free throws and 2 of 10 from behind the arc. Tennessee finished the game 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from long distance.

Florida A&M held a 3-2 advantage for 38 seconds -- the Rattlers' only lead of the game. Tennessee then scored the next 14 points to take a 16-3 advantage with 11:39 left in the first half. Fulkerson's two jumpers and a layup highlighted the spurt.

The Rattlers had only 18 first-half field-goal attempts, hitting seven. They were 1 of 4 from 3-point territory.

Tennessee will have nine days off before playing host to No. 15 Memphis on Dec. 14.

Florida A&M's visit to Tennessee marked the seventh of 13 straight season-opening games away from its Tallahassee, Fla. campus. The Rattlers play at Portland on Monday.

--Field Level Media