Chism's fast start carries Tennessee to 76-63 victory over Vanderbilt

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Wayne Chism did not start Tuesday night. It took him no time to get going, however.

The University of Tennessee forward led all scorers with 20 points, including 16 in the first half, and propelled the Volunteers to a wire-to-wire 76-63 victory over Vanderbilt before 14,057 at Memorial Gymnasium.

“I decided I didn’t need Wayne to start,” UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “I just let him come in when we were ready for him, and he did a tremendous job.”

Chism, a junior, entered the contest 3:16 after the opening tip with the Vols in front 4-1. Within 35 seconds he hit a pair of 3-pointers that made it 10-1, and it took just over three minutes for him to reach 10 points on his own.

At halftime, which ended with UT (12-5, 3-1) on top 28-20, he had 16 points on seven-for-nine shooting. That was more than he scored in 12 of the Vols’ previous 16 contests.

“As soon as I came in, they sagged off and I hit both (3-pointers),” Chism, who had started eight straight and 14 of 16 overall, said. “I thought they were going to double-team down in the post, but they didn’t so I had more freedom to do exactly what I wanted in the paint.”

In stark contrast, Vanderbilt (12-6, 1-3) made just five shots (on 27 attempts) as a team during the opening 20 minutes and played from behind for all but the first 54 seconds of the contest.

The Commodores’ first field goal came when A.J. Ogilvy made a layup 4:13 into the contest. Brad Tinsley’s 3-pointer with 9:17 remaining in the half cut the deficit to six, 16-10, but the next time they made anything other than a free throw was when Jeffery Taylor made a 3-pointer 46 seconds before intermission.

“I thought we missed some makeable shots early, and it might have gotten in our head a little bit,” VU coach Kevin Stallings said. “It seemed like there was a lid on the basket for most of that first half. We kind of dug ourselves a hole and every chance we had to get it, maybe, where we needed it, we missed a shot or missed a free throw.”

Vanderbilt, which got a team-high 16 points from reserve forward George Drake, got no closer than eight over the final 18 minutes as UT starters Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince stepped up their offensive contributions.

Smith made four field goals and eight of nine free throws as he scored 16 of his 18 points following intermission. Prince was a perfect four-for-four on free throws in the final five minutes and finished with 16 points.

“We got off to a very slow start,” Drake said. “We found ourselves kind of trying to dig ourselves back into the game throughout. It just wasn't enough at the end.

“We made our run, but … it was frustrating. We didn’t hit the shots that we usually make.”

Chism, on the other hand, made as many shots as he has all year. His eight field goals tied his season-high, set in the victory over Marquette at the Sommet Center, and was one short of his career-best.

“Chism got them off to a great start, and we just kind of struggled from there on,” Stallings said. “... He played well."