Ja’Kobi Gillespie amassed 21 points, eight assists, three rebounds and a steal, and No. 19 Tennessee rounded out its nonconference schedule by hammering South Carolina State 105-54 on Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
The point guard connected on 7 of 12 shots, 3 of 8 three-pointers and all four free throws as the Volunteers (10-3) won their third straight game and reached the century mark for the first time this season.
Nate Ament totaled 16 points and seven rebounds, while Amari Evans had 14 points and five boards. Jaylen Carey (13 points, 10 rebounds) and J.P. Estrella (12 points, 10 boards) added double-doubles as the Volunteers shot 60.9% (39 of 64) from the floor.
The Volunteers held prohibitive advantages in rebounds (52-16) and points in the paint (52-16).
Tennessee will open its Southeastern Conference schedule at No. 18 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
Jayden Johnson, the MEAC’s Preseason Player of the Year, led the Bulldogs (1-14) with 25 points, three rebounds and three assists as they made 34.5% (19 of 55) from the field.
The Volunteers notched the first six points and led 9-4 after Gillespie’s three-pointer at 16:44, but coach Rick Barnes’ squad committed five turnovers to keep the game close.
While the home side struggled to find its offensive touch, the defense was outstanding, limiting South Carolina State to 2 of 12 shooting from the floor as Tennessee led 13-6 at the 11:29 mark.
The SEC school’s defense continued to clamp down, allowing just seven points — six to Johnson — in the first 11 minutes to lead 19-7 after Carey’s driving layup.
The lead grew to 10, 20-10, after Carey canned the second of two free throws.
Johnson trimmed it to 25-19 on a short jumper with 5:58 remaining as he continued to keep the Bulldogs in it, scoring 13 of his team’s 19 points.
Gillespie’s trey at 2:47 increased the lead to 15, and the Volunteers ended the half on a 16-6 run to carry a 41-25 advantage into the locker room.
Continuing to score in the paint, Tennessee broke out on a 9-0 run to start the second half as DeWayne Brown II converted a three-point play just eight seconds into the period.
Just after the 15-minute mark, Gillespie drained a 34-footer to make it 60-30.
The Volunteers had outscored the visitors 31-7 over the first 8:12 of the second half and breezed to their final nonconference win.
No other Bulldog besides Rayniel Wright (6 points, 4 rebounds) scored more than six points in the game.
