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Tennessee Defeats LSU

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Wayne Chism had 17 points and 10 rebounds and No. 15 Tennessee overcame its worst first half of the season to beat LSU 59-49 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Thursday.

With the teams tied at 30, Cameron Tatum stretched across the lane to hit a layup with 14:28 left and launch a 16-4 run for Tennessee (24-7). J.P. Prince dunked off an alley-oop pass from Brian Williams to extend the Vols' lead to 46-34, their largest margin of the game.

LSU (11-20) held Tennessee to 25.9 percent from the floor in the first half, the Vols worst shooting performance of any half this season. Tennessee also committed 17 turnovers.

Still, the Tigers couldn't take advantage of the Vols' struggles after scoring 11 off the giveaways and finishing with 36.4 percent shooting.

Tennessee, the only ranked team to play on the first day after finishing third in the East Division, advances to play Mississippi, the West's No. 2 seed.

SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Notes
LSU (#6 Seed-West) vs. Tennessee (#3 Seed-East)
Game 2, Thursday, March 11, 2010, Tipoff: 2:30 pm CT • Attendance: 15,152

Tennessee 59 – LSU 49

With the win, No. 15 (AP)/13 (ESPN/USA Today) Tennessee moves to 24-7 overall. The Volunteers advance to Round 2 of the tourney, and will face Ole Miss (#2 seed, West) on Friday at 2:15 pm, CT.
With the loss, LSU moves to 11-20 overall.

Tennessee Notes:
With the win, Tennessee moves to 58-45 all-time in SEC tournament play. The Volunteers and Alabama are tied for second behind Kentucky’s 111-win total in SEC action. Tennessee also moves to 7-3 vs. LSU all-time in SEC tournament play.

Tennessee, attempting to reach their second consecutive SEC Tournament final, moves to 2-2 all-time in SEC tourney games played in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. They are now 23-13 in neutral site games during the Bruce Pearl Era.

The Volunteers also are 2-0 this year against LSU, having defeated the Tigers 59-54 on Feb. 4 in Baton Rouge.

    • The Volunteers held LSU to just 49 points, the lowest by any of their SEC opponents this year. 
    • Wayne Chism had 17 points and 10 rebounds, his sixth double-double this season. In those games, the Vols are 6-0.
    • Brian Williams set a season high with 14 rebounds. He topped his previous high of 13 rebounds grabbed in the season finale at Mississippi State.
    • Tennessee outrebounded the Tigers 43-36.
    • The Volunteers started cold from the field, going just 2-of-8 through the 11:46 mark.
    • Chism scored Tennessee’s first seven points. Another Volunteer didn’t score until J.P. Prince’s layup at the 8:21 mark.
    • Trailing by seven (17-10) with 5:00 left before halftime, Tennessee edged to within two at 17-15 on a Chism tip-in and 3-point play by post Williams.
    • Tennessee tied the game 21-21 in the final second of action on Chism’s converted foul shot. The game was tied previously 4-4.
    • Besides Chism, the Volunteers struggled shooting in the first half. Without Chism, who finished with 10 first-half points, the team went 4-of-23 from the field, and 0-of-7 from three-point range.
    • The Volunteers’ 21-point total in the first half is the team’s lowest since scoring just 20 points before intermission in a Dec. 19 loss to Southern California.
    • Bobby Maze’s 3-pointer at 19:06 of the second half gave Tennessee their first lead since a 3-2 in the opening minute.
    • Tied at 30-30 with 15:48 left, Tennessee went on an 8-0 run to open a 38-30 margin with 9:20 left. The Vols held LSU scoreless for a 6:28 stretch of the second half.
    •  Three-pointers by Cameron Tatum and Chism, followed by a Prince dunk at the 6:17 mark, gave Tennessee its largest lead, 46-34.

LSU Notes:
With the win, LSU moves to 44-49 all-time in SEC tournament play. The Tigers also move to 4-6 all-time vs. Tennessee in SEC tourney play. LSU is 3-2 in SEC tourney games played in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

With the loss, LSU moves to 43-50 all-time in SEC tournament play. The Tigers are now 3-7 vs. Tennessee in SEC tourney play. They are now 2-3 in SEC tourney games played in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

    • LSU’s 49-point total was their second lowest of the season. They scored 38 points in a loss at Alabama on Jan. 27.
    • Forward Storm Warren paced the Tiger attack with 18 points, hitting 9-of-13 shots.
    • Senior Tasmin Mitchell ends his LSU career just shy of reaching 2,000 points. He scored 10 points, concluding his career with 1,989. Mitchell also topped the Tigers with eight rebounds.
    • LSU was hurt by the shooting of leading scorers Mitchell and Bo Spencer. They combined to go 5-of-22 from the field.
    • LSU jumped ahead 10-4 with 12:09 left after consecutive baskets by Eddie Ludwig and Warren.
    • LSU’s largest lead of seven points (17-10) came on a Ludwig layup with 5:00 left before halftime.
    • In its season finale, the Tigers were tied 20-20 with Georgia, and eventually won 50-48.
    • LSU scored just 16 first-half points in its previous meeting against Tennessee.
    • LSU managed a 21-21 tie despite 2-of-14 shooting by their top scorers, Mitchell and Spencer.
    • Tied 30-30 with 15:48 left, the Tigers went scoreless for more than 6:28 of the clock until Warren converted a basket. The Tigers were outscored 8-0 during that span.
    • With 4:42 remaining, LSU made its first 3-point attempt. Spencer ended a 0-for-11 streak from beyond the arc.
    • LSU closed the margin to five at 54-49 on consecutive 3-pointers by Mitchell.