The Harlem Globetrotters are not set to come to Thompson-Boling Arena until Dec. 9, but Tuesday night it looked as if they had arrived a month early.
Multiple dunks from Yves Pons, an alley-oop from Kyle Alexander and a fast-paced, high-flying offense that the Washington Generals are used to seeing set the tone for the Tennessee basketball Volunteers as they defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 86-41. In its season opener, Tennessee outscored the Division II Bears 36-11 in the second half.
"Those plays excite us," Jordan Bone said. "The crowd gets in it (because of those plays) and they energize us, so we try and get as many plays like those that we can. Because they're fun to watch."
All five starters for the Vols scored in double digits with Bone leading the way with 18 points. Alexander added 14 while Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams each had 13.
Tennessee physically overpowered the smaller Lenoir-Rhyne team. That was most obvious with Pons on the court.
Minutes into the game, Pons drove down the baseline and went underneath the hoop but somehow managed to dunk the ball while getting fouled. Later in the first half he shed a box-out and slammed a putback dunk.
Pons was not done, though. Five minutes into the second half, the Bears' Davion Bradford drove in for what seemed to be an easy layup. But Pons rose and swatted the ball off the backboard before sprinting down the court for a layup. He finished the game with seven points, five rebounds and three blocks.
"I think everyone is happy for him," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "He showed his athletic ability. We think he can be a difference maker. His blocking is spectacular, and he always wants to do the right thing."
After getting off to a slow beginning, the Vols got a jump-start from their defense. Up 22-18, Tennessee put on a full-court press that immediately led to a Williams steal off the inbounds pass and a Bone layup. Then the Bears again struggled with their inbounds pass, turning it over for the second straight time, which led to another Tennessee basket.
The Vols caused 17 turnovers, which led to 22 points for them. In the second half they held Lenoir-Rhyne scoreless for the first nine minutes and 0-for-15 from the 3-point line for the half.
"There were definitely some good things (defensively)," Barnes said. "What we try to do is not to worry about who's guarding who and stuff like that. We just try and help these guys be the players that they can be."
The Vols will be back in action Friday as they take on Louisiana (formerly Louisiana-Lafayette) at 7 p.m.
Contact Rob Harvey at sports@timesfreepress.com.