No. 17 Vols top Chattanooga 58-46 for 30th straight home win

No. 17 Tennessee beats Chattanooga 58-46 for 30th consecutive home victory

Lamonte’ Turner had 17 points and 12 assists as No. 17 Tennessee beat Chattanooga 58-46 on Monday to extend the longest active home winning streak in Division I to 30 games.

Tennessee (5-0) hasn’t lost at Thompson-Boling Arena since a 94-84 defeat to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018.

Although he shot just 4 of 16 from the floor, Turner scored or assisted on 16 of Tennessee’s 19 baskets. The senior had just one turnover along with his 12 assists, two off the career high he set Nov. 12 against Murray State.

Turner improved his season average to 9.2 assists per game. He entered the game ranked third among Division I players in that category.

Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden had 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. John Fulkerson scored 14 points.

Matt Ryan and David Jean-Baptiste each scored nine points for Chattanooga (3-3), which shot 33.9%.

Turner had six points and eight assists in the first half as the Vols took a 28-18 lead into the break.

Tennessee built its lead by holding Chattanooga to two points during a first-half stretch that lasted 10:12.

That stingy defense enabled Tennessee to stay ahead even as it struggled to score in the second half.

Tennessee made just one basket in a span of 9:51, but Chattanooga couldn’t get the margin below six points during that stretch because the Mocs couldn’t make shots and couldn’t keep the Vols off the free-throw line.

BIG PICTURE

Chattanooga: Facing Florida State and Tennessee in its last two games, Chattanooga needed to make its 3-point shots to have any chance of surviving. But Chattanooga shot 5 of 24 from beyond the arc in an 89-53 loss to the Seminoles and followed that up by going 5 of 18 from 3-point range Monday. Chattanooga’s defense deserves credit for keeping this game relatively close most of the way.

Tennessee: The Vols are going to go as far as their defense takes them. Tennessee hasn’t allowed any of its first five opponents to shoot better than 41.1% from the floor.

UP NEXT

Both teams head to Niceville, Florida, for the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday. Chattanooga faces Alabama State and Tennessee plays Florida State.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25

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Follow Steve Megargee at https://twitter.com/stevemegargee



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