No. 10 Tennessee clamps down on Appalachian State with 79-38 victory

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Victor Bailey had 13 points and No. 10 Tennessee put its stifling defense on full display Tuesday night in a 79-38 victory over Appalachian State.

The Volunteers held Appalachian State scoreless for the first 6:22 while jumping out to a 13-0 lead. The margin was 36-8 before the Mountaineers scored the last five points of the first half.

Tennessee came into the game holding opponents to 26% shooting from the field. Appalachian State managed 28%.

John Fulkerson and Jaden Springer each had 12 points for Tennessee (3-0), which started fast and didn’t slow down. Josiah-Jordan James scored 11. Appalachian State (4-2) was led by Michael Almonacy with nine points.

Fulkerson had eight points in the first 20 minutes. Almonacy paced the Mountaineers with six.

Big picture

Appalachian State: A Sun Belt Conference

team led by a sophomore (Adrian Delph) and two freshmen (Kendall Lewis and Donovan Gregory), App State was focused on playing with the physicality it takes to compete with a Southeastern Conference power.

Tennessee: Between now and Dec. 30, when their SEC schedule opens with a trip to Missouri, the Vols have to become a strong rebounding team. They lost the battle of the boards against Colorado, then dominated Cincinnati by 10. Developing consistency is a key.

Up next

Appalachian State: In preparation for the Sun Belt schedule, which features back-to-back dates with the same opponent, the Mountaineers will face Greensboro College on Thursday and Columbia International on Friday.

Tennessee: When the Vols’ home football game with Texas A&M was scheduled for Saturday, the basketball game against Tennessee Tech was moved from Saturday to Friday.