National Basketball Association
Tennessee 75, N.C. Asheville 68
When: 12:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 15, 2012
Where: Coliseo de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # Tony Green, # Nathan Quick
Attendance:
14788
By SportsDirect Inc.
Tennessee 75, North Carolina-Asheville 68: Jarnell Stokes finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to power the Volunteers to a win over the Bulldogs in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament.
Kenny Hall and Trae Golden each added 14 points for Tennessee (2-0), which shot 50 percent from the floor and will meet Oklahoma State in Friday's semifinals.
Despite UNC-Asheville’s considerable height advantage, the Volunteers held a commanding 34-22 rebounding advantage and scored 42 points in the paint while their defense held the Bulldogs (1-2) without a 3-point basket until the final minute.
Tennessee controlled the action for the majority of the first half, taking a 38-28 lead into the break and extended its lead to 17 points with 15:42 remaining. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to seven points on three occasions late, but Skylar McBee and Josh Richardson hit three free throws in the final 25 seconds to hold off the charge.
Jeremy Atkinson paced the Bulldogs with 18 points and eight rebounds.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tennessee improved to 25-4 all-time against Big South opponents and 9-0 all-time against UNC-Asheville. … The Bulldogs, who committed at least 21 turnovers in each of their first two games, had only two second-half miscues and finished with 11. … The Volunteers are shooting 54.7 percent from the field – including 55 percent beyond the arc – through two games.
Top Game Performances
N.C. Asheville |
|
Tennessee |
Jeremy Atkinson 18 |
Scoring |
Trae Golden 14 |
Trent Meyer 6 |
Assists |
Trae Golden 5 |
Jeremy Atkinson 9 |
Rebounds |
Jarnell Stokes 11 |
Jeremy Atkinson 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Trae Golden 8 |
Trent Meyer 4 |
Steals |
Josh Richardson 2 |
D.J. Cunningham 1 |
Blocks |
Kenny Hall 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
N.C. Asheville
|
68 |
50.0 |
1-6 |
21-29 |
10 |
24 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
Tennessee
|
75 |
50.0 |
4-8 |
19-26 |
7 |
35 |
2 |
3 |
14 |