Knoxville, Tennessee — Santiago Vescovi had a balanced night with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and No. 8 Tennessee kept Saint Joseph’s winless this season with a 102-66 victory in Knoxville on Monday night.
Tennessee Hits Back-To-Back 100s
The win also saw Tennessee scoring back-to-back 100+ points in a game for the first time since 2016.
Vescovi, who shot 4 of 9 from the field, connected on four 3-pointers as the Volunteers (5-0) made 10 shots from 3-pointers and went 31-of-62 for 50.0% overall from the floor.
Victor Bailey Jr. was the top scorer on the night for Tennessee with 18 points, while Yves Pons added 13 points and nine rebounds in the win.
Keon Johnson finished with 12 points, five assists, three steals, and two blocks and Jaden Springer contributed 10 points before fouling out for the Vols, who beat Tennessee Tech 103-49 last Friday night.
Ryan Daly had 13 points with seven rebounds and Dahmir Bishop scored 12 for Saint Joseph’s (0-5), which had three players fouled out of the game.
Taylor Funk finished with 10 points and five boards before exiting the game with his fifth foul.
Rahmir Moore scored 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting for the Hawks, who shot 39.7% on 23 of 58 shooting overall and 20.8% from 3-pointers (5 for 24).
Big Early Run Sets Up Victory
After the scores were tied at 4-4 with 17:44 left in the opening half, Tennessee used a 16-0 run to take a 20-4 lead after six minutes. The Vols went on to build that lead to 25 points and went into the halftime break up 56-33.
The home side continued its dominance after the break and even stretched the lead to 38 with 4:59 left in the game.
Bailey’s dunk put Tennessee up 31 with 7:38 remaining and the lead never got under 30 points afterward.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Volunteers will be back on the court on Dec 23 against South Carolina Upstate. Tipoff time is 5:00 PM ET and the SEC Network will air the game live. WatchESPN.com will provide live stream.
Saint Joseph’s will face VCU in its next game on Dec. 30. Coverage from the Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena will be on ESPN+.
SAINT JOSEPH’S (0-5)
Funk 4-9 1-1 10, Longpre 3-4 0-1 6, Tracey 0-2 0-0 0, Daly 4-11 5-8 13, Hall 2-10 0-0 5, Bishop 4-11 3-3 12, Moore 3-5 4-4 10, Forrest 3-6 1-1 9, Jansson 0-0 1/3 1. Totals 23-58 15-21 66.
TENNESSEE (5-0)
Fulkerson 3-5 4-4 10, Bailey 5-10 6-7 18, James 3-7 0-0 7, Vescovi 4-9 4-4 16, Pons 5-8 2-2 13, Johnson 4-10 4-8 12, Springer 2-6 4-4 10, Anosike 2/3 5-6 9, Nkamhoua 3-4 0-0 6, Plavsic 0-0 1-2 1, Gaines 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-62 30-37 102.
Halftime–Tennessee 56-33. 3-Point Goals–Saint Joseph’s 5-24 (Forrest 2-4, Bishop 1-5, Funk 1-5, Hall 1-6, Daly 0-1, Moore 0-1, Tracey 0-2), Tennessee 10-24 (Vescovi 4-8, Springer 2-2, Bailey 2-7, James 1-3, Pons 1-3, Johnson 0-1). Fouled Out–Funk, Longpre, Tracey, Springer. Rebounds–Saint Joseph’s 24 (Daly 7), Tennessee 42 (Pons 9). Assists–Saint Joseph’s 12 (Daly 3), Tennessee 23 (Fulkerson, Vescovi, Johnson 5). Total Fouls–Saint Joseph’s 30, Tennessee 22. A–4,191 (21,678).
