Recap: Tennessee vs. Ohio
Sports Network | March 20, 2010
Providence, RI (Sports Network) - J.P. Prince scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and Tennessee took down Ohio, 83-68, in the second round of the Midwest Region.
Scotty Hopson had 17 points, while Wayne Chism finished with nine points and 12 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Volunteers (27-8), who will face either Georgia Tech or Ohio State next week in the Sweet 16.
"I thought the fact that we just didn't let the game get too fast in transition was a key. We had the advantage inside. We got the ball inside with points in the paint," said Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl.
Tommy Freeman drained six threes en route to a game-best 23 points for the 14th-seeded Bobcats (22-15), who shocked Georgetown on Thursday. DeVaughn Washington logged 16 points and eight boards and D.J. Cooper also contributed 16 points with six boards and five assists in defeat.
"We knew going into the game that protecting the paint was going to be very important, and (Tennessee) outscored us 58 to 12 on paint points," said Ohio head coach John Groce. "So obviously they were able to impose their will in that area and did a terrific job of that. I thought that was the biggest difference in the game."
Armon Bassett had 32 points in the win over Georgetown, but was limited to seven points on 2-of-10 efficiency from the field in the loss to Tennessee.
Bassett made two free throws to give Ohio its final lead of the game at 18-16. Chism converted a three-point play to ignite a 10-0 burst by the Vols, who stretched their margin to 34-20 on a Melvin Goins layup.
The Bobcats trailed 38-27 at the break, but made a run to whittle the deficit to 50-45 on a Freeman bid from beyond the arc with about 13 minutes remaining in the second half.
Tennessee, though, responded with a 14-4 surge over the next five minutes. The Vols took a 64-49 lead on a Prince layup and led by as many as 20 in the waning moments.
Tennessee reached the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons...The last No. 14 seed to advance the Sweet 16 was Chattanooga in 1997...Brian Williams had eight points and 12 rebounds for Tennessee...The Vols shot 56.7 percent from the floor, while Ohio made 37.9 percent of its shots.
