No. 20 Tennessee trounces Alabama State 76-41 for 29th consecutive home victory
Jordan Bowden scored 16 points to lead four Tennessee players in double figures Wednesday night as the 20th-ranked Volunteers trounced Alabama State 76-41 for their 29th straight home victory.
Tennessee (4-0) owns the longest active Division I home winning streak. The Vols haven’t lost at Thompson-Boling Arena since falling 94-84 to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018.
Lamonte’ Turner added 13 points and six assists for Tennessee. Turner is averaging 8.5 assists this season and entered the night ranked second among all Division I players in that category.
Bowden and Turner also became the 51st and 52nd Tennessee players to join the 1,000-point club. Bowden has 1,011 career points, while Turner has 1,002.
Tennessee held Alabama State (0-4) without a basket for the final 9 minutes, 39 seconds. The Hornets shot 28% (14 of 50) overall and 16.7% (4 of 24) in the second half.
Yves Pons scored 11 points and John Fulkerson added 10 for Tennessee. Alabama State’s Tobi Ewuosho led all scorers with 17 points.
The winless Hornets stayed close early thanks to Tennessee’s struggles from long range. After Bowden made Tennessee’s first 3-point attempt of the night, the Vols missed their next eight shots from beyond the arc.
Tennessee led just 16-15 before closing the first half with an 18-8 run. Bowden highlighted that spurt by scoring nine points in the final 5:54 of the first half with a conventional three-point play plus a pair of 3-point baskets.
The Vols then scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half and coasted to victory. Bowden capped his night by recording his fourth steal and throwing down a one-handed dunk with 5:34 left before leaving the game for good 30 seconds later.
BIG PICTURE
Alabama State: This latest road game continued Alabama State’s brutal early-season schedule. Alabama State is playing its first 15 games away from home before finally hosting Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 11. That 15-game stretch includes 11 true road games and four neutral-site matchups.
Tennessee: Freshman Josiah-Jordan James, a former five-star recruit, still hasn’t scored in double figures for the Vols this season. But he’s finding plenty of other ways to contribute. James had just three points and shot 1 of 7, but the 6-foot-6 guard pulled down 13 rebounds. He also had five assists.
UP NEXT
Alabama State visits No. 21 VCU on Monday.
Tennessee hosts Chattanooga on Monday.
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