LEXINGTON, Ky. — Chaz Lanier tied a program record in three-points made, and every single one of them were key in keeping 2-seed Tennessee's season alive for at least another day.
The Vols' sharp-shooting guard answered everything pesky 15-seed Wofford through at them with six 3-pointers to tie a single-game NCAA Tournament record and lead Tennessee to a 77-62 First Round triumph of the Terriers at Rupp Arena on Thursday.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Lanier tied former Tennessee players Dalton Knecht, Santiago Vescovi and Chris Lofton for the record.
Lanier scored a game-high 29 points and set an early tone. Many of his shots came in response to Wofford scores that kept the Terriers within reach. Each time, the reigning SEC Newcomer of the Year widened the gap.
Not to be outdone, Zakai Zeigler provided 12 points and 12 assists for a record-setting performance of his own, becoming Tennessee's all-time assist holder with 716 in four seasons. He passed former guard Johnny Darden, who set the record during his career between 1975-79, for the top spot.
The Vols (28-7) will play the winner of 7-seed UCLA and 10-seed Utah State on Saturday.
The Terriers', who were led in scoring by Jackson Sivllis with 15 points, season ends at 19-16.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It started with a Jahmai Mashack 3-pointer from the corner on Tennessee's first possession. Zakai Zeigler followed it up with a layup.
The Vols were out to a 5-0 lead before Wofford's first basket nearly two minutes in. Chaz Lanier answered that score with a three.
Tennessee was off to a good start, but three turnovers in less than two minutes and a shot-clock violation forced after Kahmare Holmes' 3-pointer allowed the Terriers to withstand the Vols' first punch.
Jordan Gainey came off the bench and ended a three-minute scoring drought for Tennessee, knocking down a mid-range jumper. Zeigler answered another Wofford score with a three to stretch the Vols' lead to 13-8 with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.
Tennessee's run continued with back-to-back jumpers from Lanier, who had 7 points before the midway point of the half to put the Vols up 17-8.
The Terriers had a chance to answer when Justin Bailey was fouled by Darlinstone Dubar going up for a three-point attempt, but he missed all three free throws, and Igor Milicic Jr. scored on the other end to give Tennessee a 19-8 advantage.
Another defensive stop led to Lanier rattling in his second 3-pointer and the Vols' run swelled to 12-0 before Jackson Sivills answered with a three to trim the Wofford deficit to 22-11.
The Terriers strung together a couple of stops and Luke Flynn buried a three, but Mashack scored on two put-backs before Lanier grabbed his own rebound and fired another 3-pointer that fell through to open up a 29-18 lead with 6:45 to go.
But as Tennessee looked like it was running away with it, another shooting lull crept in and the Vols went 3:02 without a score. Corey Tripp hit a three to get Wofford's deficit under double digits at 33-25 inside of two minutes in the half.
Tennessee didn't make a field goal over last 4:47 of the half, going 0-for-5 in that span and took a 36-27 lead into halftime.
Lanier started the second half like he started the first. He pulled the trigger on a deep three that he laced in response to one from Sivills. Milicic made one, too and the Vols were again on the cusp of a rout, up 46-34.
The Terriers weren't going away, though. They took advantage of another Tennessee scoring drought, this one going for another three-plus minutes as Sivills continued to be a problem for the Vols on the defensive end.
Backup forward Jeremy Lorenz also provided a jolt off the bench, taking advantage of a lot of room on the perimeter and hitting a 3-pointer that cut Tennessee's lead to eight. Lanier quieted them for a moment with a three, but Tripp scored one of his own off another Wofford offensive board.
The Vols' lead was back to single digits with 12:41 left.
Felix Okpara started to take command in the paint, paying off a couple of lob passes from Zeigler with scores to keep Tennessee in front by double-digits and the Vols started to take over down the stretch.
Lanier's 3-pointer with 2:50 left doubled as the dagger and the record-tying shot.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will move on to the Second Round.
The Vols will play for a Sweet 16 berth for the third-straight year against the winner of 7-seed UCLA and 10-seed Utah State, who will play at 9:05 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena.
Tip-off is slated for Saturday with a start time and TV network designation to be determined.
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
