Volunteers Survive Late Push to Topple Tennessee State 83-78

In Knoxville, Tennessee, No. 11 Tennessee defeated Tennessee State 83-78 on Friday night. The Volunteers overcame a late surge by the Tigers to keep their season undefeated at 3-0.

Terrence Hill Jr. led the Vols with 19 points. Jalen Haralson contributed 15 points coming off the bench. Tyler Lundblade added 14 points, and Dai Dai Ames finished with 11. Juke Harris recorded eight points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee.

Tennessee held a 15-point lead midway through the second half. The Tigers, who improved to 2-2, began to close the gap. Jayden Jones scored four straight points to cut the margin to seven. Ty-Laur Johnson then converted a three-point play, reducing the lead to five. That was the closest Tennessee State came to taking the lead.

Ames scored eight consecutive points early in the game to help the Vols establish their lead. He had 11 points at halftime, which was 42-37 in favor of Tennessee. Hill added 10 points in the first half.

Johnson led Tennessee State with 22 points. He also made all eight of his free throw attempts. Jayden Jones added 13 points for the Tigers.

Tennessee State plays in the Ohio Valley Conference but has experience against top-tier opponents. The team was a No. 15 seed in last season's NCAA Tournament, where it lost to second-seeded Iowa State. This season, the Tigers are considered a favorite to return to the tournament. They opened the year with a 30-point loss to Murray State but scored a combined 250 points in their two wins before facing Tennessee.

Coach Rick Barnes said earlier in the week that he plans to re-wire several players. He is looking for role players who can serve as lockdown defenders and rebounders. The Vols added eight players through the transfer portal, most of whom are scorers. Tennessee will host No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday, while Tennessee State travels to South Florida for its next game.