KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - Ron Slay had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Crump added 14 points Monday night as Tennessee beat Western Carolina 79-61. <br>
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Tennessee (5-2), playing its fourth game in nine days, had to work hard into the second half to put away a team that hasn't beaten a Division I opponent this season. <br>
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Jon Higgins added 12 points and six assists for the Vols, who recorded 11 steals. <br>
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Western Carolina (3-6) stayed in the game by making 9 of 19 3-point shots while the Vols had 18 turnovers. <br>
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The Catamounts have beaten Toccoa Falls, Southeastern College and North Greenville. They lost by 27 points last week to West Virginia, which beat Tennessee 65-62 on Saturday. <br>
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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. <br>
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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. <br>
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Vols coach Buzz Peterson immediately called timeout, and Tennessee outscored Western Carolina 14-2 during the next five minutes. <br>
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Slay scored eight points during the run, which Thaydeus Holden capped with a 3-pointer for a 56-41 lead with 11:37 remaining. <br>
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The Vols led by 18 with eight minutes left, but the Catamounts scored two quick 3s to keep the game from getting out of control. <br>
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Western Carolina got as close as 66-56 with 5:30 to go. <br>
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Tennessee used a 15-0 run in the first half to temporarily break open the game. <br>
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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. <br>
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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.
