No. 16 Tennessee 88, Charlotte 71: Suspensions Are No Problem

Read more at our Volunteers blog, Rocky Top Talk.

January 6, 2010 – Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) – Wayne Chism led six players in double-figures with 18 points, as 16th-ranked Tennessee claimed an 88-71 win over Charlotte at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Chism added six assists and five rebounds, while Scotty Hopson totaled 17 points for Tennessee (11-2), which earned a 66-59 victory at Memphis on December 31 and has won three straight and seven of eight overall. The Volunteers have a big test on Sunday with a home game against No. 1 Kansas.

Bobby Maze finished with 13 points and Kenny Hall scored 12 for the Volunteers, who were playing their first game since Tyler Smith, Cameron Tatum, Melvin Goins and Brian Williams were arrested on drug and gun charges last Friday. All of the players have been suspended indefinitely by the school.

Dijuan Harris had a team-leading 16 points, while Derrio Green ended with 14 for Charlotte (10-4), which suffered a 76-67 setback to Georgia Tech on Saturday and has lost three of its last four. Shamari Spears ended with 12 points and eight rebounds in defeat.

Tennessee built a 27-18 lead at the midpoint of the opening half after a Josh Bone fastbreak layup. Hall’s dunk put the Volunteers ahead by a commanding 43-23 lead with four minutes remaining.

UT then got a steal and a jam from Maze in the final seconds and to go up 51-29 at the intermission.

The 49ers opened the second half with a 23-7 burst and following a Chris Braswell tip-in, Charlotte was within 58-52 with nearly 11 1/2 minutes to play.

However, the Vols answered with nine in a row thanks to a three-pointer from Renaldo Woolridge and back-to-back threes from Skylar McBee that gave the hosts a 67-54 edge.

Tennessee’s lead eventually grew to 20 a short time later and the Volunteers cruised the rest of the way.

Tennessee holds a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series with Charlotte…J.P. Prince and Woolridge each finished with 10 points.