Lanier scores 19 as No. 1 Tennessee routs Western Carolina 84-36

Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier (2) drives against Western Carolina guard Cord Stansberry (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

By AL LESAR Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chaz Lanier scored 19 points to lead No. 1 Tennessee to an 84-36 victory over Western Carolina on Tuesday night.

The Volunteers (11-0) tied for the third-best start in program history. Jordan Gainey scored 17, Darlinstone Dubar added 13 points and Zakai Zeigler just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

The Catamounts (3-7), who struggled offensively after leading 9-3 in the first few minutes of the game, were led by Bernard Pelote with 10 points.

Takeaways

Western Carolina: Early season lopsided losses to Florida State and Marquette, and an impressive showing against Wake Forest, didn’t help prepare the Catamounts for the buzzsaw they ran into in Knoxville. The start of the Southern Conference season against Furman on New Year’s Day will be welcomed.

Tennessee: Defense is a priority for Tennessee. The Vols have set 64 points as their defensive goal. So far, they have kept opponents at or under that mark nine of 11 times. Only Syracuse (which scored 70 points) and Austin Peay (68) have exceeded it.

Key moment

Tennessee trailed 9-3 early in the game. The Vols went on a 35-6 run to end the half and head to the locker room with a convincing 38-15 lead.

Key stat

Western Carolina averaged 30 3-point shot attempts heading into the Tennessee game. The Catamounts launched 28 in the first half Tuesday night. All of their first-half points (15) came on 3-pointers. They made just 17.9% of their shots (5 of 28). For the game, they attempted a season-high 39 3-pointers and connected on just 6 (15.4%).

Up next

The Catamounts will host Milligan on Thursday and Tennessee takes on Middle Tennessee State at home Monday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball