Murray State was in prime position to pull off an early season upset on the road in the first half against Tennessee. Then, the Vols clamped down defensively and found their rhythm on offense.
Tennessee trailed 44-35 to Murray State at halftime and were down by as much as 12 points in the first half. Murray State led by 11 early in the second half, too. The Racers shot over 50 percent as a team and over 50 percent from three in the first half while the Vols only pulled down 10 rebounds compared to Murray State’s 22 as John Fulkerson and Jordan Bowden sat for a majority of the first half after picking up two fouls apiece pretty quickly.
In the second half, Tennessee’s defense was stifling. The Vols held Murray State to just 19 points and only 1-of-9 from three. Jordan Bowden sparked UT on offense with 19 points himself, shooting 5-of-6 from three. Yves Pons eclipsed his career-high from the season opener with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and while Lamonte Turner was just 2-of-12 from the field, he totaled a career-high 14 assists and didn’t turn the ball over once.
All that resulted in an 82-63 victory for the Vols.
Tennessee trailed by nine points at halftime, and they ended up beating Murray State by 19. After the game, there was plenty to talk about on both sides from the game.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes discussed Jordan Bowden’s play, the growth of Yves Pons from last season to now, a couple injury updates, and more after the game. Two of his players — Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner — also met with the media after the game.
Here are our full videos of all the post-game comments.
Full video of head coach Rick Barnes:
Full video of senior guard Jordan Bowden:
Full video of senior guard Lamonte Turner:
We were also there to get video of Murray State head coach Matt McMahon and guard Tevin Brown after the game.
Full video of Murray State head coach Matt McMahon:
Full video of Murray State guard Tevin Brown:
