KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 6 Tennessee improves to 17-2 overall on the season and 4-2 in SEC play as they defeat the No. 14 Mississippi State Bulldogs 68-56 on Tuesday night.
Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier had a much-needed bounce-back performance as he finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-17 shooting overall and 5-12 from the three-point line.
Jahmai Mashack finished with 10 points on a very efficient 4-6 shooting from the floor while also making both of his three-point shots, and playing exceptional defense.
Mashack drew praise from head coach Rick Barnes as he told reporters, “I thought Jahmai was terrific tonight.”
Jordan Gainey was the other Volunteer to finish with double digits finishing the game with 10 points on 3-7 shooting.
The Vols got off to a hot start in this game surging to a 8-0 lead early and they would never relinquish that lead.
The Vols controlled the majority of the game except for one Mississippi State scoring run which cut the game to 7.
The Vols were able to navigate the surge by Mississippi State due to their efficient shooting night as they shot 35.7% as a team from the three-point line.
No. 6 Tennessee(17-2, 4-2) will now turn their attention to their next road test as the Vols will travel down to Auburn to face the top-ranked Auburn Tigers(17-1, 5-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.