KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Terrence Hill Jr. scored 19 points and No. 11 Tennessee held off a late rally to beat Tennessee State 83-78 on Friday night.
Jalen Haralson added 15 points for the Volunteers (3-0) off the bench. Tyler Lundblade scored 14 and Dai Dai Ames had 11. Juke Harris grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his eight points.
Tennessee led by 15 midway through the second half, but the Tigers (2-2) clawed back. Jayden Jones, who had 13 points, scored
four straight and the margin was down to seven. It got to five when Ty-Laur Johnson, who finished with 22 points, converted a three-point play.
But that was as close as Tennessee State got.
Ames scored eight consecutive points early to get Tennessee headed in the right direction. He had 11 at halftime as the Vols led 42-37. Hill added 10 points in the first half.
Johnson had 10 points, making all eight of his free throws, to lead Tennessee State.
The Tigers, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, are no strangers to big-time competition. They were a No. 15 seed in last season's NCAA Tournament and were ousted by second-seeded Iowa State. This season, they're considered a favorite to return.
Tennessee State opened the season with a 30-point loss to Murray State, but scored a combined 250 points in two wins heading into the matchup with Tennessee.
Earlier this week, Vols coach Rick Barnes said his plan is to “re-wire” several players, hoping to find some role players who will fill the needs in Tennessee's attack.
While most of the eight players who arrived through the transfer portal were scorers, Barnes is on the lookout for some who are ready to be lock-down defenders and rebounders.
Tennessee State visits South Florida on Tuesday.
Tennessee hosts No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday.
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