Vols Run Past Murray State in Second Half, 82-63

Behind a career-high 26 points from Jordan Bowden, Tennessee extended its nation-leading home win streak to 28 games with an 82-63 win over Murray State on Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

In addition to his career-best scoring output, Bowden hit a career-high six 3-pointers, finishing 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Knoxville native scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half.

For the second consecutive game, Vols junior Yves Pons set a career-high in points with 19.

Senior guard Lamonte Turner dished out a career-high 14 assists and committed zero turnovers. Turner’s 14 assists were the most by a Vol in a single game since 1994 (LaMarcus Golden). Junior forward John Fulkerson, for the second straight game, narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

Tennessee (2-0) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and faced a nine-point deficit heading into halftime. After the Vols and Racers battled evenly to start the second half, the Tennessee offense came alive with a 14-4 run, capped by a three-point play from Fulkerson that put the Vols in front, 64-58.

Fulkerson’s three-point play was preceded by a 3-pointer from Bowden, which gave Tennessee its first lead since the 18:53 mark of the first half.

Following the run that put the Vols in front for good, Tennessee went on to close the game on a 16-0 run – holding Murray State (1-1) scoreless over the final 7:21.

In the opening frame, Murray State led for more than 18 minutes and took a 44-35 lead into the break. It marked only the fourth time since the start of the 2017-18 season that Tennessee has trailed at the break at home. The Racers hit eight of their first 14 3-point attempts on their way to a 54 percent shooting mark through the game’s first 20 minutes.

Pons led all scorers in the first half with 13 points.

DEFENDING HOME COURT: Tuesday’striumph over Murray StatewasTennessee’s nation-leading 28th consecutive home win, which ties the third-longest home win streak in program history. Dating to last season, Tennessee’s last nine home wins have all come by double digits.

TURNER MAKES HISTORY: Lamonte Turner dished out 14 assists during Tennessee’s win, the most by a Vol in a single game since LaMarcus Golden also had 14 on Jan. 19, 1994. Turner’s performance is only the eighth game in program history in which a Vol has tallied 14 or more assists.

PONS OFF TO QUICK START:Yves Pons has posted back-to-back double-digit scoring games after averaging just 1.6 points per game as an underclassman. After a then-career-high 15-point outing in the season-opener against UNC Asheville, Pons registered another career-high with 19 points Tuesday against Murray State.

Pons also had made only nine career 3-pointers entering the 2019-20 campaign, but he has made four in the season’s first two games. His three triples against Murray State were his most in a single game. Pons also set a career-high in blocks against the Racers with four.

UP NEXT: Tennessee travels north of the border to Toronto for the James Naismith Classic, where it is set to face Washington on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN+.