Dec 23, 2002

Box Score

By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS
AP Sports Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Ron Slay had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Crump added 14 points Monday night as Tennessee beat Western Carolina 79-61.

Tennessee (5-2), playing its fourth game in nine days, had to work hard into the second half to put away the Catamounts (3-6).

Jon Higgins added 12 points and six assists for the Vols, who recorded 11 steals.

Western Carolina stayed in the game by making 9 of 19 3-point shots while the Vols had 18 turnovers.

Western Carolina's Kevin Martin came in averaging 23.7 points a game but was held to 16. Kori Hatcher added 12 points for the Catamounts.

Western Carolina trailed by nine at halftime but started the second half with a 10-4 run to cut Tennessee's lead to 42-39.

Vols coach Buzz Peterson immediately called timeout, and Tennessee outscored Western Carolina 14-2 during the next five minutes.

Slay scored eight points during the run, which Thaydeus Holden capped with a 3-pointer for a 56-41 lead with 11:37 remaining.

The Vols led by 18 with eight minutes left, but the Catamounts scored two quick 3's to keep the game from getting out of control.

Western Carolina got as close as 66-56 with 5:30 to go.

Tennessee used a 15-0 run in the first half to temporarily break open the game.

The Catamounts, who trailed 10-0 in the opening minutes, went ahead 19-17 on Rans Brempong's basket with 10:35 before halftime. Western Carolina went scoreless the next six minutes. Brempong finished with four points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

Stanley Asumnu made two free throws and Slay had a dunk to put the Vols ahead. Higgins hit two 3-pointers during the spurt, the last giving Tennessee a 32-19 lead with 4:56 left in the first half.

Western Carolina will return to action Dec. 31 when the Catamounts play at DePaul on New Year's Eve. Tipoff is set for 3 pm (CT) or 4 pm (ET) in Chicago.