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.