University of Tennessee Athletics
No. 18 Tennessee mauls Miami
December 02, 1999 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Though he may lead his team in scoring, Vincent Yarbrough believes balance is what has made Tennessee successful so far this season.
"I don't think there's any selfishness on this team," said Yarbrough, who scored 19 points Wednesday night to help No. 18 Tennessee beat Miami of Ohio 78-59. "I think that leads to about everybody getting an equal amount of points."
Smothering defense by the Volunteers (5-0) allowed the RedHawks (1-2) to hit only 26 percent of their shots in the opening 20 minutes. Miami rallied within 10 points late in the second half.
"We definitely won this game in the first half," Tennessee's Isiah Victor said. "We wanted to come out and play hard defensively so they wouldn't get up on us."
The Vols, behind Yarbrough's 13 first-half points, led 39-19 with one minute left in the first half.
"They got on us early," Miami coach Charlie Coles said. "We're not playing well."
Miami, led by Jason Grunkmeyer's five second-half 3-pointers, closed to 67-57.
Tony Harris responded by scoring seven points during a game-ending 11-2 run for the Vols.
"I was afraid that we might come out in the second half a little blase," said Tennessee coach Jerry Green. "But credit Miami. They run their offense as aggressively and as patiently as anybody we play."
Victor had 15 points and nine rebounds. C.J. Black, who became the 32nd Vols player to score 1,000 career points, added 12.
Grunkmeyer's 19 points led Miami while both Jason Stewart and Anthony Taylor added 14.
