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HomeSportsTennessee Vols roll in the second half to defeat Wake Forest, 79-60

Tennessee Vols roll in the second half to defeat Wake Forest, 79-60

Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Volunteers - UT VolsWinston-Salem, NC – After a slow start to the contest, the 21st-ranked Tennessee Volunteers rode a hot second half to defeat Wake Forest, 79-60, at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.
 
The Vols (9-2) shot 59 percent (17-of-29) from the field in the second stanza as part of a 43-25 lopsided score over the Demon Deacons (7-5) in the period. Tennessee got its best production from its starters, as a group, this season, as all five reached double-digit scoring to get a much-needed road win heading into conference play.

Tennessee Men's Basketball beats Wake Forest 79-60 Saturday afternoon at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. (Craig Bisacre/Tennessee Athletics)
Tennessee Men’s Basketball beats Wake Forest 79-60 Saturday afternoon at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. (Craig Bisacre/Tennessee Athletics)

Sophomore guard Jordan Bowden continued to have the hot hand, dropping a team high 17 points behind a perfect 5-of-5 performance from deep. Admiral Schofield finished with 14 points and six boards in the contest.
 
Jordan Bone took over the game in the second half, using his elite speed and elusiveness to get to the basket or create open shots for his teammates. He tallied 12 points and five assists. Kyle Alexander and Grant Williams both posted 11 points each.
 
After making it a two-possession game with 6:40 left in the contest, UT used an 8-4 run over the next three minutes of play to take a 69-60 lead into the final media timeout.
 
Out of the break, the Vols got a huge stop on defense and responded with a Schofield trey from the top of the key to make it a 12-point advantage. The Vols ended the game on a 16-2 run to give UT its second road win of the season over an ACC opponent.  
 
Despite a sloppy first half, Tennessee entered intermission with a 36-35 lead over the Demon Deacons behind 46-percent (12-of-26) shooting from the floor. Alexander paved the way on offense with nine points — seven coming in the final six minutes of the frame — to go along with three boards and a block in 14 minutes of action.
 
The Vols got in foul trouble early on in the game, picking up their seventh foul and sending Wake Forest to the free throw line with over 14 minutes left in the first half. UT cleaned things up, though, holding the Deacs to only 11 trips to the charity stripe, converting on 10 of those attempts to keep the game close going into the break.

With the Win

Tennessee enters SEC play with two or fewer losses for the first time since 2009-10. The Volunteers now hold a 2-0 record in true road games this season, both at ACC venues. UT also earned its fourth victory away from home over a Power Five opponent.

Next Up for UT Men’s Basketball

The Vols begin conference play with a trip to Arkansas next Saturday before hosting Auburn (January 2nd) and Kentucky (January 6th) in back-to-back home games at Thompson-Boling Arena.

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