Tennessee point guard Jordan Bone, center, and his teammates leave the court after their 87-63 victory over Missouri on Tuesday night in Columbia, Mo. Bone had 17 points as one of four Vols who scored in double figures.KNOXVILLE – When people talk about the Tennessee men’s basketball team as a national title contender, it’s performances such as the one produced by the Volunteers on Tuesday that are the root cause.
On a night when 2018 Southeastern Conference player of the year Grant Williams was held to four points, the third-ranked Vols just kept the engine going with four players scoring in double figures in an 87-63 win at Missouri.
Williams was held to 22 minutes before fouling out. It didn’t matter, as Jordan Bowden had his second consecutive 20-point game coming off the bench and Jordan Bone added 17, Admiral Schofield 16 and Kyle Alexander 14 points with 17 rebounds in the win.
Lamonte Turner, in his second game back from injury, had nine points and was 3-for-4 from 3-point range as the Vols (13-1, 2-0) shot 53 percent for the game – 58 percent in the second half – to top 50 percent for the sixth consecutive game.
“I go back to Lamonte being hurt,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the game. “It was tough on us, but yet it gave other guys a chance to get some of that (playing time). The last two games in particular, I think John and Derrick (Walker) and Kyle have really locked into doing their jobs. I just think they’re playing defense, terrific defense. Derrick broke one (ball) lose and we got out in the open court and scored. Jordan Bowden just did a workman-like night. Lamonte is still working his way back in. He’s not there yet.
“We weren’t great at the end. We had the lead but didn’t close it out the way an older team should. But give them credit. I do think our early-season schedule, and the fact that we were able to play some guys some serious minutes when it counted, has helped us.”
Since SEC play began, Alexander has averaged 13.0 points and 15.5 rebounds per game while shooting 75 percent from the field. Bowden has averaged 20 points in those two league games, while Turner’s return gives the Vols yet another option on the perimeter.
With another road test Saturday against Florida (8-5, 0-1), the Vols will need all the options available as teams continue to try to attack Williams on the interior.
They believe they have a number of options available.
“It used to be get Grant the ball and all this stuff,” Alexander said. “Then it was get Grant and AD (Schofield) the ball. Now it’s like anyone can try to score. If they try to shut these guys down, we’re going to kill them with these guys.”
Vols in Emerald field
Tennessee will play in the 2019 Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida, the school announced Wednesday.
The Vols, along with Florida State, Purdue and Virginia Commonwealth University, will compete Nov. 29-30 at Northwest Florida State College near the Gulf of Mexico.
“This will be the best field we’ve ever assembled for the Emerald Coast Classic, and it shapes up as one of the strongest preseason college basketball tournaments next season,” said Maury Hanks, chief executive officer of Global Sports and the tournament’s director. “We continue to strive in bringing the best college basketball teams possible to the Emerald Coast of Florida.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.