Feb. 10, 2007
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BUY TICKETS: Feb. 14 vs. South Carolina
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wayne Chism scored 17 points, Chris Lofton added 16 and Tennessee defeated No. 23 Vanderbilt 84-57 on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Commodores (16-8, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) beat their in-state rivals in their first meeting on a last-second basket and hoped to sweep the Vols.
But Tennessee (17-8, 5-5) controlled the game from start to finish and held Vanderbilt to a season-low in points.
The Vols jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the opening minutes, a spurt that included back-to-back 3s by Chism.
Vanderbilt first scored on Shan Foster’s three-point play with 15:39 remaining in the half. Tennessee led 42-21 at halftime, and the Vols were up by 30 midway through the second half.
Foster led Vanderbilt with 15 points and Ross Neltner added 13.
Lofton, the SEC’s leading scorer, was back for a second game after missing four because of a sprained right ankle. Tennessee went 1-3 without him, making their return to the NCAA tournament look shaky.
Chism, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward, was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and had a season-high 12 rebounds.
The Commodores return home to face South Carolina Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT in Memorial Gym. Call 322-GOLD for tickets.
