Vols go to 5-0 with win over Appalachian State

The Volunteers (5-0) held off Appalachian State 89-81 Tuesday night in their best start since 2000-01, Jerry Green’s final season, when they began 9-0. Pearl, who replaced fired Buzz Peterson, joins Green, Ray Mears and two other former Tennessee coaches to win their first five games.

“We’re 5-0. These guys are finding ways to win. They’re playing hard. They’re enjoying playing together. The crowd is enjoying them. I’m happy,” Pearl said.

C.J. Watson scored 23 points, Chris Lofton added 15, Major Wingate and Stanley Asumnu each had 12 and Andre Patterson 11 for Tennessee. Dane Bradshaw added 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.

The Mountaineers (3-4) led by 12 in the first half, but Tennessee had a long rally to regain the lead and maintained it most of the rest of the game.

Pearl has implemented an uptempo style that has energized a team that went 14-17 and lost to teams like Chattanooga and Nebraska last season.

“It lets you beat the teams you’re supposed to beat and gives you a chance to beat the teams you’re not. We haven’t gotten to the part in the schedule yet … ” Pearl said. “We’re getting ready to go there. We’ll see what it does.”

The Vols’ other wins have come against East Tennessee State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Eastern Kentucky and Murray State. Their next two games are on the road at No. 2 Texas on Dec. 17 and Oklahoma State on Dec. 22.

Douglass McLaughlin-Williams scored a career-high 21 points for Appalachian State and was 6-of-6 shooting before missing a putback with 10 1/2 minutes left. He finished 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The Mountaineers made seven of their first eight 3-point attempts and finish 11-of-24 in 3-pointers. The Vols were 11-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Appalachian State also had 14 points from D.J. Thompson, 13 points by Jarvis Jackson and 10 from Tyler Webb.

“We came in here with every intention of winning a basketball game, and we felt we needed to keep the tempo to our speed,” Mountaineers coach Houston Fancher said. “They play at 100 miles per hour and we tried to keep it at about 75. … It got up to 110 there when they came back on us and we sort of lost our lead and our luster, but still in the second half they got ahead of us and we did not fold.”

The Vols trailed 41-29 after Thompson’s 3-pointer with 6:14 left before halftime and then got aggressive and scrappy in a 19-2 run to finish the half and regain the lead.

Watson hit a 3 and Wingate dunked to start the rally, and Jordan Howell tied it with another 3-pointer and then dove to the ground to secure a loose ball that led to Asumnu’s three-point play for a 46-43 lead with 2:07 left in the first half.

Tennessee pulled away with a late 9-0 run to go ahead 81-71 with 5:12 left, but Appalachian State scored seven quick points to threaten the lead. Then Watson nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the game to stop the spurt with 3:17 to go. He sank four free throws in the final 1:23 to seal it.