NASSAU, Bahamas — Celebrating a Southeastern Conference tournament title next March in Nashville or the NCAA championship a few weeks later in San Antonio would obviously be most rewarding for the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team.
This early in the schedule, though, it’s hard to beat earning back-to-back blowout wins in the Caribbean and heading back to Knoxville with a trophy the week before Thanksgiving.
Chaz Lanier made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points — all in the first half — as 11th-ranked Tennessee cruised past No. 13 Baylor 77-62 on Friday night to win the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship title.
Lanier took the drama out of the championship final early, making five 3-pointers in the first four minutes to carry the Volunteers (6-0) to a 16-2 lead. The fifth-year senior’s final 3 just before the halftime buzzer gave Tennessee a 47-20 advantage.
Lanier, a fomer prep standout for Nashville’s Ensworth School who played his first four college seasons at North Florida, finished 9-of-16 from the field and 7-of-10 from 3-point range against Baylor. He was named the tournament’s MVP as the 6-foot-5, 207-pounder followed up a 26-point performance in Tennessee’s 64-42 win against Virginia in Thursday’s opening round at the four-team event.