University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
EA Sports (Exh.)
Vols Win Exhibition Opener 75-70 Over EA Sports
November 08, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2002
KNOXVILLE - Tennessee opened its second season Friday under head coach Buzz Peterson with a 75-70 victory over the EA Sports East All-Stars.
Thaydeus Holden's two free throws with 9.4 seconds remaining sealed the victory, giving UT its final margin after EA Sports had cut the lead to 73-30 on an Adonis Jordan free throw with 10 seconds remaining.
Senior forward Ron Slay, who scored 22 points, left little doubt that he's fully recovered from a knee injury that caused him to miss the final 15 games last season. Slay connected on 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in just 20 minutes.
"The game gave us some good situations," said Peterson. "With three minutes to go, it was tight, so our play through that period was a good experience. We've got a lot of work to do, and one thing we need to do is get tougher, the way Ron Slay is tough.
Brandon Crump added 13 points, connecting on 4-of-8 from the field, and grabbed four rebounds before fouling out with 3:07 remaining. Freshman point guard C.J. Watson scored 10 in his first action as a Vol.
Corey Anders, who played collegiatelly at Pacific, paced EA Sports with 17 points, and former Kansas star Adonis Jordan added 12.
Tennessee outrebounded EA Sports 39-30 and hit 47 percent from the field, including 50 percent (12-of-24) in the second half. The Vols added 20-of-25 shooting (.800) at the free throw line. UT hit 6-of-7 at the line in the final three minutes to clinch the victory.
Slay's 13 first-half points led the Vols to a 40-36 halftime advantage.
Tonight's game was the fifth game in EA Sports East All-Stars' 13-game exhibition schedule against college teams. EA Sports lost at Louisville 98-90 Wednesday.
The Vols will play their final exhibition game Thursday (7:30 p.m.) against Worldwide before opening the regular season Nov. 22 against Gardner-Webb at Thompson-Boling Arena.
