Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl had billed his team's game against
Wyoming as having the potential to be the most exciting matchup of
the season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The running offenses and pressing defenses of both teams
provided that excitement in the first half, but it was Tennessee
that ran away in the second half for a 77-58 victory Tuesday night.
"We wore them out," Pearl said. "We played that [up] tempo,
and both teams went into the locker room, and then one team came
out of that locker room and still had what it took to play in the
second half. That was impressive to me."
The Vols (8-1) struggled to slow down the normally
high-scoring Cowboys (5-5) in the first half, but Tennessee's
defensive pressure and fast break offense wore Wyoming down in the
second.
Leading by one point at halftime, the Vols ran out to a 57-49
lead with 14:45 to go on a steal and layup by Scotty Hopson, who
led Tennessee with 14 points. The sophomore also punctuated
Tennessee's second-half surge with several fast break dunks.
Tennessee forced 29 turnovers, a lot of those coming from the
Vols taking charge and charges inside.
"We really tried to close the paint down," Pearl said. "We
took twice as many charges tonight as we have all season. It was
stressed in the scouting report, and the kids executed it."
Melvin Goins put Tennessee up by double figures for the first
time with a 3-pointer that made it 64-53, and the Vols cruised from
there.
Afam Muojeke had 15 points and seven rebounds for Wyoming,
which shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first half, but just
26.3 percent in the second half.
"We've been holding teams to low shooting percentages. We've
just got to keep it up, but it gives us confidence on the defensive
end," said Hopson, the Vols' leading scorer who rebounded from his
one-point outing against Middle Tennessee State on Friday.
Both teams boast pressure defenses and fast-paced offenses
that average more than 80 points a game. The Cowboys force more
than 20 turnovers a game, but the Vols committed just 13 and had 18
assists, including six each from Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince.
Wyoming managed just five field goals in the second half.
"I think we were trying to rush or something and take quick
shots," Cowboys forward Djibril Thiam said. "They took advantage of
that and went on quick fast breaks and made easy baskets. I think
the turnovers killed us."
Wayne Chism had 14 points for Tennessee and Smith added 10.
The Volunteers finished two short of a season high with 15
steals, and held Wyoming to 17 points in the second half.
The Vols finished just 4 of 20 from 3-point range.
Wyoming took a 25-23 lead on a 3-pointer by senior Ryan
Dermody, who shortly after added another 3 to extend the lead to
31-25. The lead reached 35-25 but Tennessee crawled back and a
tip-in by center Brian Williams put the Vols up 42-41 at halftime.
"For about 30 minutes, we went toe-to-toe with maybe one of
the best teams in the country," Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said.
"We just kind of ran out of gas there for a stretch, and they're
really good in this building."
The Vols improved to 15-0 at home in December under Pearl.
