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No. 9 Tennessee Opens SEC Slate Against Auburn
Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Bobby Maze and J.P. Prince each ended with 14 points, as ninth-ranked Tennessee routed Auburn, 81-55, in an SEC matchup at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Maze also dished out nine assists, while Wayne Chism poured in 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had six steals for Tennessee (13-2, 1-0 SEC), which has won five in a row, including a 76-68 win over then top-ranked and previously undefeated Kansas on Sunday.
DeWayne Reed led all scorers with 19 points, and Frankie Sullivan made 4-of-9 from three-point territory and finished with 14 points -- 12 in the first half -- for Auburn (9-8, 0-2), which had its four-game winning streak snapped with an 80-71 loss to conference foe South Carolina on Saturday. Lucas Hargrove donated 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Tigers, who shot a woeful 30.4 percent from the floor.
With the score tied at 14-14 nearly six minutes into the contest, Auburn momentarily took control of things. Earnest Ross hit a three-pointer to spark a 14-3 run, and Sullivan capped it off with another trey to put the Tigers up, 28-17, with 7 1/2 minutes left in the half.
Sullivan then made another three-ball a short time later for a 34-22 Auburn edge, but Tennessee closed the stanza on a strong note.
The Volunteers ran off 16 in a row and grabbed a 38-34 lead after Chism made two from the line with under a minute to play, but Auburn got a three from Sullivan just before the buzzer and trailed by only a point, 38-37, at the break.
In the second half, Auburn went ahead, 42-40, in the early going until Tennessee turned it into a laugher. Maze and Prince hit back-to-back jumpers to put the Vols in front and ignite a 13-1 spurt in the process.
Renaldo Woolridge's three with just under 14 minutes to play put the hosts up by double-figures, 53-43, and the advantage ballooned to 67-48 with nearly seven minutes left. Auburn didn't threaten the outcome in the remaining time on the clock.
Tennessee, which has won six straight at home over Auburn, improved to 69-37 in the all-time series...Scotty Hopson and Kenny Hall ended with 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Volunteers, who shot 60.8 percent from the field.
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