Tennessee Wins First Round Game, 72-57

BIRMINGHAM - Second-seeded Tennessee broke open a tight game with a 12-2 run late in the second half and went on to defeat American University 72-57 in the first round of the NCAA East Regional at Birmingham.

The American Eagles opened strong, building up a13-9 lead over the Volunteers in the first nine minutes of the game. But Tennessee fought back, using a 7-2 run at the end of the half to take a 29-22 lead into the locker rooms.

The Eagles came out after the break and quickly erased that deficit with an 8-2 run to tighten the score at 31-30 with less than three minutes gone in the half. A pair of back-to-back three pointers by American's Garrison Carr tied the score 40-40 at the 11:22 mark of the second period.

Tennessee responded with a 10-0 run, getting five points each during the stretch from Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith. But the Eagles mounted another comeback with a 9-0 run of their own, using a pair of three-pointers from Brian Gilmore and another from beyond the arc by Carr. That was capped by a pair of three-point shots that pulled American to 50-49.

Tennessee's JaJuan Smith stopped that run with a three-pointer of his own. That sparked a 14-4 run for the Volunteers that put the game away at 64-53. After that, he game became a series of fouls by the Eagles, free throws by the Volunteers, and mostly futile offensive shots by the American team.

Tennessee hit five-of-ten from the charity strip and tossed in another basket. The Eagles, meanwhile, missed their last five shots from the field, tacking on some more points with some free throws of their own..

The Eagles' Carr led all scorers with 26 points. Gilmore added 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.

JaJuan Smith led Tennessee with 19 points. He was joined by two other Volunteers in double figures, Chism with 16 and Smith with 14. Smith also added seven rebounds and six assists.

The Volunteers shot 48.9 percent from the field (22-of-45), while limiting the Eagles to 36.2 percent (21-of-58). American stayed in the game by out-rebounding Tennessee, 39-27. That advantage was offset by turnovers, though, with Tennessee forcing 22 out of the Eagles while giving up only 14 themselves.

Tennessee advances to the second round and will face the winner of the Butler-South Alabama game on Sunday in Birmingham.

References
American vs. Tennessee Game Statistics (2008, March 21). Gametracker.