Trae Golden scored 17 points as Tennessee found its niche in the second half to beat Louisiana-Monroe 85-62 on Wednesday night.
The game featured eight lead changes before the Volunteers (2-0) outscored their visitors 52-29 after intermission.
Tennessee opened the contest with a 9-0 lead before the Warhawks (0-3) battled back in the latter portion of the first half. Louisiana-Monroe scored seven unanswered points to go up 16-15 after a Fred Brown 3-pointer with 10:25 on the clock.
That advantage lasted just 44 seconds before Skylar McBee countered for Tennessee with a 3-pointer of his own. Golden followed with a pair of free throws to put the hosts up 20-16 at the 8:59 mark, but the score differential only narrowed from there and the teams were knotted at 33-all at the break.
Fabio Ribeiro's bucket with 13:45 to play in the second half gave Louisiana-Monroe a 48-46 lead. Then Tennessee countered with a 9-0 run that was capped by a McBee 3-pointer with 11:26 on the clock.
Tennessee didn't trail again.
Dwight Miller's jumper at the 10:46 mark sparked a 17-5 scoring binge for the Vols, leaving them comfortably in front 72-55.
McBee finished with 15 points for the Volunteers, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Cameron Tatum contributed 13 points with three 3s. Jeronne Maymon's double-double included 11 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Richardson pitched in 11 points.
Tennessee won the rebounding battle 46-27 and got a pair of blocks from both Kenny Hall and Jordan McRae.
Brown paced Louisiana-Monroe with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Hugh Mingo provided 11 points and seven rebounds.
