Freshman Nate Ament scored a game-high 23 points on Saturday afternoon to help lead No. 18 Tennessee to a 95-56 victory over visiting Northern Kentucky in Knoxville, Tenn.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 20 points, while J.P. Estrella chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee (2-0), which shot 52.3% (34-for-65) from the field and outrebounded the Norse 47-25. Felix Okpara matched Estrella with a game-high 11 rebounds in the win.
Kael Robinson and Donovan Oday led Northern Kentucky (1-1) with 14 points each, while Dan Gherezgher added nine points for the Norse, who made just nine of their 30 (30&) 3-point attempts and shot just 38.5% (5-for-13) from the free throw line.
Ament scored Tennessee’s first seven points of the second half, as the Volunteers extended their 21-point halftime lead to 59-35 with 17:06 remaining. The talented freshman then completed consecutive three-point plays later in the half, part of a 10-0 run that increased the lead to 73-43 with 11:53 left.
The Norse answered with seven straight points, as Oday’s triple trimmed the Volunteers’ lead to 23.
Tennessee finished the game on a 14-0 run, as Okpara’s back-to-back baskets stamped the high-scoring Volunteers’ output.
After Robinson’s 3-pointer gave the Norse an early 10-5 lead, Bishop Boswell’s triple started a 13-0 Tennessee run, which was finished with Estrella’s tip-in with 12:05 left in the first half.
Another Robinson 3-pointer trimmed Northern Kentucky’s deficit to 28-21, but Boswell and Gillespie answered with consecutive triples before Gillespie’s dunk gave the Volunteers a 36-21 edge.
Cade Phillips’ dunk and Estrella’s layup pushed the Volunteers’ lead to 46-25 at the 3:38 mark.
Oday’s layup with 48 seconds left cut Northern Kentucky’s halftime deficit to 52-31. Oday led the Norse with 11 first-half points, while Gillespie paced the Volunteers with 13.
