KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Appalachian State shot just 28% and it still hurt Tennessee’s season statistics. That says something about the way the No. 10 Volunteers are playing defense.
Tennessee (3-0), which came into the game holding opponents to 26% shooting, kept the Mountaineers (4-2) scoreless for the first 6:22 and coasted to a 79-38 victory Tuesday night.
Victor Bailey had 13 points to pace the Volunteers. John Fulkerson and Jaden Springer each scored 12, and Josiah-Jordan James added 11.
“Our guys have a great respect for each other and a great respect for work ethic,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “They know we expect (a great defensive effort). If we don’t get it, we’ll give someone else a chance.”
The 38 points were the fewest allowed in Barnes’ six-year tenure with the Vols.
“We’ve never seen pressure like that,” said Appalachian State coach Dustin Kerns. “That team is really hard to score on. It’s hard to practice against.”
After jumping out to a 13-0 lead, Tennessee was up 36-8 before the Mountaineers scored the last five points of the first half.
Appalachian State was led by Michael Almonacy with nine points.
Fulkerson had eight points in the first 20 minutes. Almonacy paced the Mountaineers with six.
In preparation for the Sun Belt schedule, which features back-to-back dates with the same opponent, the Mountaineers will face Greensboro College on Thursday and Columbia International on Friday.
Charlotte 63, Davidson 52
DAVIDSON — Jahmir Young had 18 points and seven rebounds as Charlotte beat Davidson 63-52 on Tuesday night.
Jordan Shepherd added 16 points and seven rebounds for the 49ers (2-3). Milos Supica chipped in 11 points.
Kellan Grady had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (3-3). Hyunjung Lee added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Virginia Commonwealth 93, Western Carolina 68
RICHMOND, Va. — Nah’Shon Hyland had a career-high 31 points as VCU routed Western Carolina 93-68 on Tuesday night.
Jamir Watkins had 15 points for VCU (6-2), which earned its fourth consecutive win. Corey Douglas Jr. added 11 points. Vince Williams Jr. had 10 points.
Xavier Cork had 16 points for the Catamounts (6-2), whose five-game win streak was broken. Tyler Harris and Matt Halvorsen each added 12 points.
Mason Faulkner, the Catamounts’ leading scorer coming into the matchup at 18 points per game, scored only nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
East Tennessee State 65, Gardner-Webb 60
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — David Sloan had 18 points and seven assists as East Tennessee State narrowly defeated Gardner-Webb 65-60 on Tuesday night.
Ledarrius Brewer added 14 points for the Buccaneers (2-3), and Vonnie Patterson chipped in 10 points.
D’Maurian Williams had 17 points for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-3). Anthony Selden added 11 points. Jaheam Cornwall had seven rebounds.
UNC Greensboro 65, South Carolina Upstate 57
GREENSBORO — Khyre Thompson had 16 points off the bench to lift UNC Greensboro (3-3) to a 65-57 win over South Carolina Upstate on Tuesday night.
Tommy Bruner had 13 points and eight rebounds for South Carolina Upstate (0-7). Dalvin White added 12 points. Nevin Zink had 11 points.
