NCAA
Tennessee 86, Massachusetts 67
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
RALEIGH, N.C. — Forward Jarnell Stokes scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half as 11th-seeded Tennessee blistered sixth-seeded Massachusetts, 86-67, in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional second round on Friday at PNC Arena.
Guard Jordan McRae scored 21 points and guard Josh Richardson added 15 points for the Volunteers, who shot 53.6 percent from the field. Forward Jeronne Mayon chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Stokes, who scored 12 points on free throws, also had 14 rebounds.
Tennessee (23-12) faces 14th-seeded Mercer, which stunned Duke in the day’s first game, in the third round Sunday.
The Volunteers have won seven of their last eight games, including an NCAA First Four game in overtime two nights earlier against Iowa. The only loss during that stretch came against top-ranked Florida.
Forward Maxie Esho and guard Chaz Williams each had 12 points and guard Derrick Gordon added 10 points for UMass (24-9), which was in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.
The Minutemen trimmed a 20-point deficit to 46-36 with a little more than 14 minutes left, aided by two 3-pointers from forward Samson Carter.
Carter didn’t take a shot in 15 first-half minutes, and those were two-thirds of the successful 3-point shots for the Minutemen.
But McRae provided a response for Tennessee, converting on a jumper before completing a three-point play as part of a 7-0 spurt as the Volunteers began to rebuild their advantage.
UMass lost four of its final six games.
Tennessee broke out to a comfortable lead in the first half, holding a 41-22 halftime lead.
Guard Jordan McCrae had 14 first-half points, including a 3-pointer seconds before the horn. He made 6-of-10 shots from the field in the opening half.
UMass shot only 33.3 percent (10-for-30) from the field in the first half, missing each of its three 3-point shots. The Minutemen were hurt by 10 turnovers before the break, with Tennessee cashing them in for 11 points.
The Volunteers held a double-figure lead not eight minutes into the game. The margin grew to 20 points about nine minutes later.
NOTES: These teams met three times previously, with Tennessee winning each of those. The most-recent game came last year in Puerto Rico. … UMass G Chaz Williams entered the tournament with 15 double-digit assist games, tying a school record. … Tennessee F Jarnell Stokes started the game with 20 double-doubles, ranking third nationally in that category. His latest one came two nights earlier against Iowa in a First Four game.
