KNOXVILLE - Tennessee finally was able to secure another men's basketball win Tuesday.
It just had to roll around in the mud for a little while to do it.
The fifth-ranked Volunteers won 66-53 over Georgia Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena to improve to 3-0 for the season.
They're off until Nov. 21 when they face Louisville in the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Vols didn't play particularly well as Georgia Tech (1-1) tried to slow the game on the defensive end with a physical style of play, but Tennessee had a strong defensive effort that limited the Yellow Jackets to 28 percent from the field. The Vols weren't much better, making 40 percent of their shots, and struggled at the free-throw line, making 24 of their 38 attempts.
Grant Williams made only 10 of 16 free throws but led the Vols with 22 points, leaving him one shy of 1,000 for his career. He also added eight rebounds and three assists. Jordan Bone scored 15 points, while Kyle Alexander chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.
Jordan Bowden had a career-high 11 rebounds, while Admiral Schofield had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Vols took a 33-25 lead into the locker room, having held the Yellow Jackets to 29 percent from the floor. Williams had 13 of his game-high point total in the first half, but the Vols' shooting struggles from the charity stripe started early as they were 12-for-18 in the first half and missed out on some chances to open the game up early.
Georgia Tech was led by Brandon Alston's 16 points, but the Yellow Jackets were whistled for 30 fouls, with point guard Jose Alvarado and center James Banks - who just became eligible Tuesday - fouling out.
Former Vol Shembari Phillips, who played in 64 games with 24 starts over his two-year Tennessee career, had two points on 1-for-4 shooting.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.