KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee men’s basketball went into its Christmas break on a high after beating Wake Forest 83-64 Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The third-ranked Volunteers (10-1), who have won six games in a row, dropped the Demon Deacons to 6-4. The Vols won’t play again until hosting Tennessee Tech next Saturday for their final game of the calendar year.
The Vols and the Demon Deacons were tied at 19 midway through the first half, but Tennessee pulled away with a 23-11 finish over the final 8:38 to take a 42-30 lead into the locker room. The Vols put the game away with a 14-5 spurt to start the second half.
Here are three observations from the win:
Bone’s consistency
Coming off a 24-point, 11-assist performance against Samford on Wednesday, Vols point guard Jordan Bone kept up his high level of play against the Demon Deacons by totaling 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting with five assists and just one turnover in 34 minutes. After struggling with his shooting early in the season, Bone was 19-for-31 in Tennessee’s two games this week and had just three turnovers to 16 assists.
Alexander’s minutes
With Wake Forest attempting to neutralize senior standout Admiral Schofield, the lane was clear for classmate and forward Kyle Alexander, who patrolled the interior for 19 points (his most as a college player) and eight rebounds. He made all but one of his 10 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and took advantage of every opportunity provided.
Subs contribute
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes has been adamant about needing more from his bench, namely from anybody not named Jordan Bowden. While the bench didn’t offer much in the way of shooting, going a combined 2-for-6 from the floor, Bowden and sophomore Jalen Johnson chipped in six points and two assists each, with Johnson knocking down two of the Vols’ makes as they went just 3-for-13 from 3-point range in the game. John Fulkerson and Derrick Walker came in to provide some interior minutes and combined for four rebounds and three assists.
For more coverage, check back later and see Sunday’s Times Free Press.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.