National Basketball Association
Tennessee 65, Savannah State 51
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Jeff Anderson, # James Breeding, # Alfred Smith
Attendance:
6289
By SportsDirect Inc.
Tennessee 65, Savannah State 51: Freshman Jarnell Stokes scored 13 points as the Volunteers pulled away for a first-round NIT win in Knoxville.
Tennessee (19-14) advances to face Middle Tennessee State or Marshall in the second round. The Volunteers, who narrowly missed a NCAA tournament berth, won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Down 17 points in the first half, Savannah State (21-12) made it interesting in the second half. Preston Blackman’s jumper brought the Tigers within 37-35 with 13:12 remaining.
Tennessee then opened up the lead again with a 12-2 run. Josh Richardson scored six points during the run, and Stokes’ jumper with 8:09 to go gave the Volunteers a 49-37 advantage.
The Volunteers started quickly, scoring the game’s first 11 points and building a 26-9 advantage on two Yemi Makanjuola free throws with 7:16 remaining in the first half. The Tigers cut into the lead, finishing the half with a 15-6 run to pull within 32-24 at halftime.
Trae Golden added 11 points for Tennessee, and Makanjuola scored 10 points.
Rashad Hassan led the Tigers with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Game Notebook: Tennessee played without forward Jeronne Maymon, who missed the game with a knee injury. … Hassan recorded his third double-double of the season. … Tennessee finished 19-for-26 from the free-throw line, while Savannah State shot just 6-for-14.
Top Game Performances
Savannah State |
|
Tennessee |
Rashad Hassan 20 |
Scoring |
Jarnell Stokes 13 |
Preston Blackmon 5 |
Assists |
Cameron Tatum 5 |
Rashad Hassan 14 |
Rebounds |
Cameron Tatum 9 |
Preston Blackmon 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Trae Golden 6 |
Cedric Smith 5 |
Steals |
Trae Golden 1 |
Rashad Hassan 2 |
Blocks |
Jarnell Stokes 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Savannah State
|
51 |
32.8 |
3-15 |
6-14 |
13 |
38 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
Tennessee
|
65 |
42.0 |
4-10 |
19-27 |
11 |
40 |
5 |
3 |
12 |