Terrence Hill Jr. Scores 18 as No. 11 Tennessee Pulls Away From Radford, 70-47
The Vols led only 33-24 at halftime, then used a 16-0 second-half run and held Radford to 26.2% shooting, but Rick Barnes called the offense atrocious and Jalen Haralson left with a right shoulder issue.
Knoxville, Tenn. Terrence Hill Jr. scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and No. 11 Tennessee broke open a 10-point game with a 16-0 second-half run in a 70-47 win over Radford on Monday night at Food City Center.
The Vols (2-0) held the Highlanders (0-3) scoreless for 8:32 during the run and to 26.2% shooting for the game, 16 of 61, according to Field Level Media. It was the defense, not the offense, that won it.
"A night like tonight, we were atrocious really on offense, but our defense was good," Rick Barnes said, according to Tennessee Volunteers On SI.
Tennessee 70, Radford 47
- Halftime
- Tennessee 33‑24
- Radford shooting
- 16‑61 (26.2%)
- Radford second half
- 24.2%
- Tennessee free throws
- 18‑23
- Points in the paint
- Tennessee 40‑14
- Decisive run
- 16‑0, Radford scoreless for 8:32
The run that decided it
For most of the night this was closer than the final score. Tennessee did not score until Tyler Lundblade hit a 3-pointer 2:31 into the game, and the Vols were 2 of 10 from the field at the first media timeout, according to Tennessee Volunteers On SI.
A 13-5 run to close the first half gave Tennessee a 33-24 lead, with Hill scoring 10 of his points before the break. Tennessee shot 46.2% in the half but committed seven turnovers, and Radford outrebounded the Vols 18-17 over the first 20 minutes, Field Level Media reported.
DeWayne Brown II's free throws made it 42-27 with 14:18 left, the biggest lead to that point. Jordyn Kee answered with a 3-pointer that cut it to 46-36 with 12:31 to go.
Then the Highlanders went cold. Tennessee scored the next 16 points, and Radford did not score again until Kee's three-point play with 3:59 left. By then the game was over.
The box score
Hill was efficient everywhere: 2 of 4 from 3-point range, 4 of 4 at the line, three assists, three rebounds and two steals. He had 17 points in the opener against Wofford.
Dai Dai Ames added 13 points. Jalen Haralson had 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, and SB Nation called it his best game yet. Miles Rubin had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks off the bench, according to Tennessee Volunteers On SI.
Brown, who had 17 points and 17 rebounds against Wofford, took only three shots and finished with four points, but he grabbed 12 rebounds.
The cold spots were on the perimeter. Juke Harris scored six points on 1-of-9 shooting, according to SB Nation, which noted he is still looking for his rhythm.
For Radford, Kee scored 16 and Warren Keel Jr. added 13. Frederik Erichsen, the Highlanders' leading scorer at 14 points per game, was held scoreless.
The two concerns
Turnovers were the theme of Barnes' postgame comments. "There's no way this team should turn the ball over the way we are," he said, per Tennessee Volunteers On SI. Barnes noted Haralson had three of them.
The bigger worry is Haralson's health. He went down on a hard foul at the rim with 7:51 left and showed discomfort in his right shoulder, Tennessee Volunteers On SI reported. Officials reviewed the play for a flagrant foul on Keel and kept it a common foul. Haralson made both free throws. The postgame reports did not include an update on his status.
Box Score
Team Stats
| Stat | Tennessee | Radford |
|---|---|---|
| Field goals | 24‑52 (46.2%) | 16‑61 (26.2%) |
| 3-pointers | 4‑17 (23.5%) | 5‑24 (20.8%) |
| Free throws | 18‑23 (78.3%) | 10‑17 (58.8%) |
| Rebounds | 43 | 32 |
| Offensive rebounds | 6 | 10 |
| Assists | 16 | 7 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 16 |
| Steals | 11 | 11 |
| Blocks | 9 | 6 |
| Fouls | 16 | 16 |
Tennessee
| Player | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrence Hill Jr. | 18 | 6‑9 | 2‑4 | 4‑4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Dai Dai Ames | 13 | 4‑7 | 0‑1 | 5‑6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jalen Haralson | 11 | 4‑6 | 0‑0 | 3‑4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Miles Rubin | 8 | 4‑5 | 0‑0 | 0‑1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Juke Harris | 6 | 1‑9 | 1‑6 | 3‑4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DeWayne Brown II | 4 | 1‑3 | 0‑0 | 2‑2 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Tyler Lundblade | 3 | 1‑5 | 1‑4 | 0‑0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Braedan Lue | 3 | 1‑3 | 0‑1 | 1‑2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Manny Green | 2 | 1‑1 | 0‑0 | 0‑0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Troy Henderson | 2 | 1‑3 | 0‑1 | 0‑0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Fermin | 0 | 0‑1 | 0‑0 | 0‑0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Duncan | 0 | 0‑0 | 0‑0 | 0‑0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Washington Jr. | 0 | 0‑0 | 0‑0 | 0‑0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 70 | 24‑52 | 4‑17 | 18‑23 | 39 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 16 |
Radford Leaders
| Player | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Kee | 16 | 6‑11 | 3‑4 | 1‑2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Warren Keel Jr. | 13 | 6‑13 | 1‑4 | 0‑0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| G. Ferreira | 6 | 0‑1 | 0‑0 | 6‑10 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Tristan Gross | 5 | 2‑7 | 1‑5 | 0‑0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Player rebounds add up to 39; Tennessee's team total of 43 includes four team rebounds. Players shown with an initial are listed as they appear in the box score. Figures are from the CBS Sports box score.
What it means and what's next
Tennessee fell three spots to No. 11 in Monday's AP Top 25 after opening at No. 8, according to the AP. Two wins over Wofford and Radford by a combined 54 points have not answered the questions from the exhibition losses to Xavier and Duke, mostly because the offense has started slowly both times.
The next game is Friday against Tennessee State at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+, according to CBS Sports. The first real measuring stick follows on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when No. 5 Michigan State visits Knoxville at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Sources: Field Level Media via Southern Sports Today, Terrence Hill Jr., No. 11 Tennessee too strong for Radford; Tennessee Volunteers On SI, No. 11 Tennessee men's basketball defeats Radford 70-47; Tennessee Volunteers On SI via Yahoo Sports, Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee men's basketball win over Radford; SB Nation via Yahoo Sports, Tennessee pulls away from Radford in the second half; AP via Yahoo Sports, Men's AP Top 25 basketball poll, Nov. 9; CBS Sports, Radford vs. Tennessee box score; CBS Sports, Tennessee basketball schedule
