National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tennessee 71, East Tennessee St. 61
When: 1:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Officials: # John Hampton, # Bart Lenox, # Brian Shey
Attendance: 14245

Tennessee 71, ETSU 61:
Josh Richardson had 19 points as the Volunteers survived a barrage of 13 3-pointers to beat the visiting Buccaneers.

Armani Moore added 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Tennessee (8-4), which won its fourth straight game and remained undefeated at home. The Volunteers, who also received 12 points off the bench from Derek Reese, enjoyed a 38-20 rebound advantage and dominated the visitors in the paint 38-14.

Rashawn Rembert hit 7-of-11 3-pointers to score 21 points, and Lester Wilson added 16 points for ETSU (6-4), which has lost three of its last four. Thirty-two of the Buccaneers’ 48 field-goal attempts came beyond the arc, but they only had three offensive rebounds to Tennessee’s 12.

ETSU hit its first five shots of the second half, including a trio of 3-pointers, to take a 44-38 lead, but cooled off as Tennessee reeled off an extended 26-12 run to take a 64-56 lead with less than four minutes to play. The Buccaneers were only able to get as close as five points from there.

Rembert drained six 3-pointers in the first half, including three in a game-opening 13-0 run. Tennessee, however, was able to right itself and outscored ETSU 32-12 over the ensuing 13 minutes before Rembert hit two more treys in the final 2:10 to cut the Volunteers’ lead to 32-31 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The win was Tennessee’s eighth straight against ETSU since back-to-back home losses in 1989 and 1991. … The Volunteers have won 21 straight regular-season home games against non-conference opponents. … The Buccaneers have hit a 3-pointer in 839 straight games and have at least eight in every contest this season.

Top Game Performances
 
East Tennessee St.   Tennessee
Rashawn Rembert 21 Scoring Josh Richardson 19
Petey McClain 11 Assists Armani Moore 7
Lester Wilson 4 Rebounds Armani Moore 12
Jalen Riley 3 Free Throws Made Josh Richardson 5
A.J. Merriweather 2 Steals Josh Richardson 3
N/A Blocks Robert Hubbs III 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
East Tennessee St. 61 41.7 13-32 8-9 16 20 0 4 13
Tennessee 71 50.0 5-15 14-21 19 32 2 7 13