KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team officially started its 2024-25 campaign Monday night with an 80-64 victory over Gardner-Webb.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, in his program debut, scored a team-high 18 points for No. 12 Tennessee (1-0), which never trailed and led for all but 62 seconds, as it improved to 35-3 all-time in home openers at Food City Center.
After a tightly contested opening 11 minutes, a personal 8-0 run from Lanier in just 71 seconds put the Volunteers ahead by a dozen, 30-18, with 7:32 remaining in the first half. Gardner-Webb (0-1) scored the next six points to slice the deficit in half with 5:16 on the timer, but Tennessee quickly regained control.
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler led a 12-4 surge over 3:17 in which he scored half the points and assisted on the other half, helping the home team go up by 14, 42-28, with 1:52 left in the session. The lead remained in double digits, 44-32, at the intermission behind a combined 21 points from Lanier (11) and Zeigler (10) during a session in which Tennessee shot 15-of-31 (48.4 percent) from the floor.
The Volunteers scored all seven points in the opening 1:56 of the second half to go ahead by 19, 51-32. Gardner-Webb scored the next five points to cut the deficit to 14, but the home team once again grabbed command right back.
Tennessee stretched its lead all the way to 27, 71-44, with 8:39 to play after making eight consecutive field goals, including three by Lanier and senior guard Jordan Gainey. The Runnin’ Bulldogs did eventually, via a 10-0 run in 2:20, get the margin down to 13, 75-62, with 3:10 remaining, but the outcome never fell into question. Tennessee ultimately went on to take a 16-point victory, its eighth straight year earning a season-opening win by at least 15.
Lanier tallied his 18 points on a 7-of-12 field-clip, including a 4-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. Gainey tallied 16 points, two shy of his top total as a Volunteer, on a dazzling 7-of-9 ledger from the floor, adding three steals.
Zeigler notched 13 points and nine assists, finishing just short of his ninth-career double-double and logging more assists than Gardner-Webb’s whole team. Fellow senior guard Jahmai Mashack scored 10 points, shooting 2-of-4 from deep and making all four of his free throws, while adding a career-high-tying four steals. Junior forward Felix Okpara paced all players with nine rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end, in his Tennessee debut.
Sophomore guard Darryl Simmons II led all scorers with 22 points for Gardner-Webb, finishing 8-of-16 from the floor, 4-of-10 on 3-pointers and 2-of-2 at the line. Graduate forward Jamaine Mann and junior guard Deshawn Goodwyn each posted 13 points on a 4-of-8 ledger in the setback. The Volunteers held the rest of the Gardner-Webb roster to an 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) mark on field goals.
Tennessee finished with a 13-0 margin in fast-break points and a 29-14 advantage in bench points, while shooting 28-of-55 (50.9 percent) from the field.
The Volunteers open their road slate Saturday in Louisville, Ky., when they take the court at the KFC Yum! Center to face Louisville, live on ACC Network. Vol Network coverage on 103.1FM WIKQ begins at 12pm.
