Vols Win 72-68; End Four Game Skid
By Nat Scott
Tennessee entered Tuesday night without a win against a Division 1 opponent in over a month, and for three-fourths of the game it appeared the drought would continue. UNC Asheville (6-5) led for the majority of the night, before a late run by Tennessee (4-6) spurred on the victory. The Vols trailed 53 to 45 midway through the second halp, before Tennessee connected on three consecutive three pointers as part of an 11 to 3 run to take a 56-55 lead, the Vols first lead since 20.
The final minutes were decided at the free throw line, with both teams missing several key opportunities down the stretch. UNC Asheville had several opportunities to tie the game at the stripe, but were only able to convert one out of two free throws on several occasions. A breakaway dunk by Kenny Hall and a couple clutch points for Trae Golden helped Tennessee put the game away in the fnal minutes.
Golden came into the game as Tennessee’s leading scorer, but struggled for the majority of the night. In 29 minutes, Golden recorded 5 points on 1-8 shooting and 0-4 for beyond the three point line. Golden did tally five assists in the game. The stars of the game were Renaldo Woolridge (Swiperboy himself) in the first half and Cameron Tatum in the second half. Woolridge kept Tennessee in the game with 13 first half points on his way to a career high 17. Woolridge made 7 of his 12 shots and 3 of six from three. Tatum picked it up in the second half where he scored 14 of his 17 points. Tatum also connected on 4 of his 5 three point shots.
The play of Kenny Hall and Jeronne Maymon was once again solid and bordered on impressive. Maymon registered his fourth double-double of the year with ten points and 13 rebounds (including six on offenese). Kenny Hall also threw in 12 points and four boards. The two helped Tennessee to outrebound UNC Asheville by a 37 to 33 margin.
UNC Asheville came out of the gates on fire. The team made seven of their first 8 shots on the way to building an eleven point lead in the first half. Tennessee battled back to cut the deficit to three at the half; however, UNC Asheville was able to push the lead to double digits again in the second half. Asheville was led in scoring by J.P. Primm with 25 points.
Tennessee has one more game before Christmas as they take on the Bucs of East Tennessee State on Friday night December 23rd. One other news story to look at in the following days is the status of recruit Jarnell Stokes. Stokes is the 16th rated prospect in the nation and is set to decide between Memphis, Florida, and Tennesse on Thursday. Stokes could enroll in January and start play next month.