KNOXVILLE - Yves Pons just went out and played his game Wednesday night.
The 6-foot-6, 209-pound sophomore forward did a little bit of everything in his first start for the University of Tennessee, affecting the game against Eastern Kentucky at all levels.
The sixth-ranked Volunteers did so as well, overcoming a less-than-stellar shooting performance from 3-point range to dominate the interior in all aspects and defeat the Colonels 95-67 in front of 15,036 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee (5-1) will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-3) on Sunday before back-to-back-road games - against Gonzaga at the Jerry Colangelo Classic on Dec. 9 in Phoenix and at Memphis on Dec. 15.
Starting in place of junior Jordan Bowden, Pons finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks in 22 minutes. He made two of his three 3-point attempts - his first makes of the season from long range - and did all of the little things Tennessee coaches have implored him to do.
There was the offensive rebound on the Vols' first possession that ultimately led to his first 3-pointer. There was the block at the rim of a Nick Mayo dunk attempt.
Vols coach Rick Barnes talked prior to Tuesday's practice about flipping Pons and Bowden in the rotation, tinkering with a starting lineup of Bowden, Kyle Alexander, Jordan Bone, Admiral Schofied and Grant Williams that had started 36 of the team's previous 39 games - with a 27-9 record in those contests.
"I thought Yves really did a good job," Barnes said. "The more he plays, the better he'll get. He was doing things we want him to do to start the game with his defense and his rebounding. He's a guy that tries to keep the ball moving. He hit his 3s, and he's capable of doing that."
Barnes didn't tell Pons he was starting until just before the game, noting he made the change because he wants Bowden to be more aggressive and "want more."
"I wasn't nervous," said Pons, who is from France. "I just played my game. Hitting that first shot settled me in and got me in a comfortable zone. It was a good shot to take."
The Vols shot 51 percent from the floor, using 24 assists on 35 made baskets to get open looks against the Colonels (3-4). When they weren't hitting shots, they were pounding the glass to the tune of a 50-32 edge, including 18 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points. The Vols also had 48 points in the paint and 25 points off 20 Eastern Kentucky turnovers.
While the Vols shined inside the 3-point line, shooting 68 percent, they struggled outside of it, making only 25 percent of their attempts (7-for-28). It was the second straight game they had shot 30 percent or worse from 3-point range.
Williams had 21 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots, while Schofield scored 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting. Bone finished with 14 points and seven assists, his third consecutive game with at least five assists and his fourth such game this season.
Bowden, who had been perceived as lacking aggressiveness at times this season, was more active Wednesday, taking seven shots in 20 minutes and finishing with seven points.
The Colonels played evenly with the Vols early, but Tennessee went on a 21-3 first-half run to take control. They led 49-28 at the break, and after a Kyle Alexander dunk that led to a three-point play with 18:09 left, their advantage never dipped below 20 points.
The Vols held the Colonels to 36 percent from the field, a number aided by Eastern Kentucky shooting 44 percent in the second half.
"Our transition game was big for us tonight," Bone said. "When we started running, when we started beating the press, that's when things started to open up for us."
Mayo led the Colonels with 23 points and added nine rebounds. Jomaru Brown chipped in 14.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.