KNOXVILLE—The Vols struggled for much of the night, but veteran leadership and some improved shooting from the charity stripe led them to a come-from-behind win over USC Upstate, 74-65. Game pics here.

Notes

*Jordan McRae led the Vols with 18 points while Stokes (17), Maymon (15), and Barton (13) all scored in double-figures.

*Tennessee trailed by as many as 13 points and McRae’s 14 second half points spurred the Vol comeback. Stokes’ 18 rebounds tied his career high and gave him his 19th double-double. Maymon pulled down 11 rebounds to give him a double-double in his first home game since the 2011-12 season.

*Newcomer Antonio Barton showed a knack for clutch scoring and had 13 points on just six shots in his home debut. His step-back-three in the second half gave the Vols a 61-59 second half lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

*Tennessee turned the ball over just five times, the lowest turnover total for a Tennessee team since 1992.

*After start the game 6-12 from the free throw line, Tennessee went 23-24 to shoot 80.6% from the line for the game. They shot just 36.8% in a season-opening loss to Xavier.

*5-star freshman Robert Hubbs III scored his first career points. He was 2-5 from the field for six points in 13 minutes of action.

*Bearden graduate Ty Greene played the entire game and scored 15 points for USC Upstate in his homecoming.

Quotes

“I thought Jarnell and Jeronne did a good job rebounding. First time they both had a double-double in the same game. They did a great job crashing the glass. Jeronne did a good job playing through fatigue, battling, just having the will to win. I think Jarnell accepted the challenge in the second half. I thought he got dominated in the first half. Really got out and played and really stepped up in the second half and I’m proud of them for that. We didn’t shoot the ball well. Antonio did a good job of scoring in the second half, being aggressive and assertive. Also we did a better job down the stretch at the free throw line. It’s amazing how many we shoot a day – and then just 20-30 minutes of missed free throws and they finally fell for us. It was a great night against a quality opponent.”—Cuonzo Martin

“We had to bear down on defense, we knew what type of team they was coming into the game. We watched a lot of film, they just punched us coming into the first half. We didn’t handle it well, we came out in the second half and capitalized on a lot of things.”—Antonio Barton

“I put in hours and hours of working on my left hand and right hand hooks, exploding through guys and working on my craft. Sometimes I get into games and I don’t use it. So I’ll just have to watch film and trust my game because it’s very frustrating when I don’t use it in the game.”—Jarnell Stokes

“He has a lot more to bring to the table. This is really his first game getting in his groove, especially being on Tennessee’s home floor. He’s going to bring a lot to the table; we like his swagger and style he brings at the point position. He’s a shot maker. Regardless of newcomer or old-timer if you’re a shot maker, you’re a shot maker by the way you are. He shoots those balls and we expect them to go in.”—Jeronne Maymon on Barton

Highlights