Milicic scores 18 points as No. 11 Tennessee beat Montana 92-57

On By Pranco

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Igor Milicic Jr. had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and No. 11 Tennessee defeated Montana 92-57 on Wednesday night.

Chaz Lanier, Felix Okpara and Cameron Carr each scored 13 points for the Volunteers (3-0). Zakai Zeigler had eleven points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The 6-foot-2 Milicic also had two steals and made two 3-pointers.

Money Williams led Montana (2-2) with 30 points.

Takeaways

Montana: Six of the nine-member Grizzlies are playing in Montana for the first time. That makes for a pretty steep learning curve this early in the season, especially against the No. 11 team in the country.

Tennessee: A week ago, Gardner-Webb scored 64 points in a loss to Tennessee. More than half (34) of those points came in the paint. That was a concern for Vols coach Rick Barnes. With the emphasis on defense low, Tennessee allowed just 10 against Louisville but suffered a bit of a regression against Montana (22).

Key moment

A 13-2 run early in the second half allowed Tennessee to turn a nine-point halftime lead into an 18-point advantage, giving the Vols some breathing room. Chaz Lanier had eight of those points.

Key stat

Tennessee committed nine turnovers in the first half. The Vols had just one in the first 14 minutes of the second half and extended the lead to 23.

Next

Montana plays at Utah State on Monday and Tennessee takes on Austin Peay on Sunday.

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