Tennessee 82, Auburn 54

[March 06, 2014]  AUBURN, Ala. — Tennessee 82, Auburn 54: Jordan McRae and Jarnell Stokes each scored 12 points in the first half, and the visiting Volunteers overwhelmed the Tigers after jumping to a 24-4 lead.

Stokes finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Tennessee (19-11, 10-7 SEC), which shot 50 percent from the field in the first half to build a 44-20 lead at intermission. Antonio Barton hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points, and McRae and Jeronne Maymon each finished with 13 points.

Tahj Shamsid-Deen made five 3-pointers and tied a career high with 17 points for Auburn (13-15, 5-12), which started 2-for-16 from the field and finished at 37.7 percent to lose for the sixth time in its past eight games. Chris Denson, second in the SEC in scoring at 19.9 per game, scored a season-low three points on 1-of-10 shooting.

The Volunteers opened the game with 10 consecutive points, with Barton’s 3-pointer 3 1/2 minutes in giving Tennessee a double-digit lead. The Volunteers ran off 13 unanswered points shortly thereafter as McRae nailed two 3-pointers and Stokes’ layup with a little more than nine minutes left making it 24-4 Tennessee.

Four days after setting a school record for fewest points allowed in a 76-38 rout of Vanderbilt, the Volunteers held Auburn to a season-low in points. KT Harrell added 15 points for Auburn, which is 12th in the SEC with one game remaining before next week's conference tournament.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tennessee remained one game behind Georgia for third place in the SEC. … Denson has scored nine points in his past two games on 3-of-25 shooting from the field. … The Volunteers outrebounded Auburn 43-25, led by Maymon’s eight rebounds.

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