Tyler Smith and Kenny Hall both had 16 points, and No. 16 Tennessee scored the first 22 points of the game in a 99-78 victory over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday night.
Hall's points were among 60 scored by Tennessee's reserves. Skylar McBee added 12 points and fellow reserve J.P. Prince had 10, while starter Scotty Hopson scored 10. Brian Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.
At first the Vols (9-2) looked as if they hadn't overcome the shooting woes that plagued them in a lopsided loss to Southern California on Saturday, missing six of their first seven shots from the field.
But the Aggies (4-8) couldn't compete with the Vols' physical defense. Tennessee had 21 steals, and North Carolina A&T, which was playing the seventh of an eight-game trip, committed 23 of its 34 turnovers in the first half, leading to 33 Tennessee points.
Dwane Joshua led North Carolina A&T with 20 points. Thomas Coleman scored 16, Tavarus Alston had 15 and Robert Johnson 13. James Porter had 11 rebounds.
The Vols dominated inside with 60 points in the paint, and their lead never dropped below 19 points after the initial run.
Tennessee honored the Southeastern Conference's most prolific 3-point shooter at halftime, announcing it was naming a basketball recruiting lounge at its practice facility for former shooting guard Chris Lofton. The Maysville, Ky., native played from 2004-08 and has 431 career 3s.
Lofton led the Vols to their only other win over North Carolina A&T, drilling eight 3-pointers in a 93-59 victory on Nov. 27, 2007.
It was North Carolina A&T which dominated from outside this time. Alston and Joshua both had three 3s, and the Aggies finished 10 of 33 from behind the arc.
Coach Jerry Eaves stresses the important of the 3-pointer to equalize games against better teams, and the Aggies were ranked 10th nationally with 9.3 per game through Sunday.
It was Tennessee's final chance to build some confidence before playing at Memphis and then hosting No. 1 Kansas and a Charlotte team that's already upset Louisville this season.
