No. 7 Tennessee Survives Scare Against Prairie View A&M

Vols overcome slow first half to get past Panthers

Nov. 16, 2007

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Tyler Smith scored 15 points and Chris Lofton added 14 as No. 7 Tennessee beat Prairie View A&M 89-75 in the second round of the StubHub Legends Classic tournament.

Ramar Smith added 10 points for Tennessee, which advanced to the semifinals against West Virginia on Nov. 23.

The Vols are now 32-4 under third-year coach Bruce Pearl when scoring more than 80 points and have won 19 straight at home.

Aaron Smith led the Panthers with 21 points, hitting 5-of-9 from 3-point range.

Tennessee looked out of sync in the first half, trailing by as many as six points and being outhustled by a taller Prairie View squad. The Volunteers shot just 33 percent from the field to the Panthers' 48 percent, leading to a 36-35 A&M advantage.

The Volunteers (3-0) opened the second half with a 19-7 run to take a 54-43 lead after 6 minutes. After Prairie View pulled within seven at 60-53, Tennessee went on a 18-10 spurt to put the game out of reach.

Brian Ezeh scored 15 points and Derek Johnson 10 for Prairie View (1-2). Johnny Cobb contributed nine points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers. A&M, which outrebounded Tennessee 48-43, was hurt by 30 turnovers, which led to 32 points for the Vols.