University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Lenoir-Rhyne (Exh.)
Vols Defeat Lenoir-Rhyne, 77-49
November 08, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2014
Final Stats | Quotes
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Volunteers wrapped up exhibition play Saturday with a 77-49 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee's new zone and press defense paid dividends. After only three steals in Monday's victory over Pikeville, the Vols had 18 steals and forced 22 turnovers against Lenoir-Rhyne and turned that into 31 points.
Senior Josh Richardson and junior Derek Reese both paced the Vols with 14 points each, with Reese scoring 12 of his points in the second half.
A 10-0 run midway through the first half put the Vols into the lead to stay in their second of two preseason games this week. Freshman Detrick Mostella capped the run by making a pair of free throws to put Tennessee ahead 22-16 with 7:23 left in the half.
Richardson pushed the Vols' lead to 10 points for the first time with a steal before half court and a dunk at 34-24 with 1:34 left before halftime. Lenoir-Rhyne cut the lead to 34-28 at the break.
The Vols continued to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 30 points.
The Vols' defense was good at getting steals and limiting Lenoir-Rhyne's shooting from the field. The Bears shot 38 percent (19 of 50) from the field. The Vols cut the Bears' 3-point shooting to just 16.7 percent (2 of 12) in the second half.
Of the Vols' 18 team steals, eight players had at least one steal for the Vols. Richardson led the Vols with four. Sophomore Robert Hubbs III and Junior Armani Moore led the Vols with seven rebounds each.
Tennessee also saw improvement over its first exhibition game when it came to taking care of the ball. The Vols had 18 turnovers against Pikeville but reduced that number to nine on Saturday.
Ian Chiles saw his first action as a Vol. The senior from IUPUI checked into the game early in the second half. He had a steal and an assist in eight minutes. Junior Galen Campbell also played for the first time.
The Vols open the 2014-15 regular season Friday, Nov. 14, against VCU as part of the Quicken Loans Veterans Classic at Navy's Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:37 p.m. and will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
