Dalton Knecht scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half to fuel No. 9 Tennessee to an 80-42 victory over visiting Tennessee Tech on Monday in Knoxville, Tenn., in the season opener for both teams.
Knecht, a transfer from Northern Colorado, made 6 of 11 shots from the floor.
Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James sank five 3-pointers to highlight his 15-point performance. James added seven rebounds, and South Carolina Upstate transfer Jordan Gainey scored 11 points off the bench.
Zakai Zeigler added three points and four assists in his return from ACL surgery on his left knee in March. Zeigler blew kisses to the crowd as he entered the game to a loud ovation.
Santiago Vescovi scored just two points in his return from being at home in Uruguay with his ailing grandmother.
The Volunteers shot a robust 51.6 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from 3-point range to seize a 41-12 lead at halftime. Tennessee put it on cruise control from there to record its 28th win in 29 meetings with Tennessee Tech.
Josiah Davis scored 13 points for the Golden Eagles, who had 16 turnovers and shot just 28.6 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
Tennessee bolted out of the blocks on the strength of Gainey and Knecht, who each scored seven straight points during a 19-4 run in the first half.
Gainey made a layup, a jumper and a 3-pointer while Knecht added two layups and a 3-pointer before Jonas Aidoo capped the run with a field goal to give Tennessee a 23-6 lead.
Diante Wood sank a jumper for Tennessee Tech to halt the momentum, but J.P. Estrella sandwiched a layup and dunk around a pair of 3-pointers from James to extend the advantage to 33-8.
James drained his fourth 3-pointer of the game and Zeigler made his presence felt by following suit to push Tennessee’s lead to 47-15 early in the second half.
The outcome was not in doubt the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
