KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Zakai Zeigler came off the bench to score 16 points to lead No. 19 Tennessee to a 73-64 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday night.
Josiah-Jordan James had 14 points for the Volunteers (18-6, 9-3 Southeastern Conference), John Fulkerson had 12 and Santiago Vescovi 10.
The Commodores (13-11, 5-7) were led by Scotty Pippen, Jr. with 23 points. Myles Stute scored 17 and Rodney Chatman had 11.
Tennessee's 12-point halftime lead grew to 16 early in the second half before Vanderbilt made its move.
Stute hit a pair of 3-pointers, Chatman had two free throws and Jordan Wright hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 50-45.
Pippen scored six straight to get the difference to one with 11:34 to play, but Fulkerson had a three-point play and the Commodores then went more than four minutes without scoring as the Vols got the lead back to seven.
A pair of Kennedy Chandler baskets, his first points of the night, pushed the Tennessee lead to 10 with 3 minutes to play, 69-59.
BIG PICTURE
Vanderbilt: Pippen came into the game as the No. 2 scorer in the SEC (No. 51 in the country) at 18.7 ppg. ... The Commodores are battling with Ole Miss, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama for places among the top 10 in the 14-team SEC standings, which would mean they would avoid playing on the first night of the league tournament.
Tennessee: Finding an answer for the absence of 6-foot-8 Olivier Nkamhoua (ankle surgery) will be imperative to the Vols’ success. In a win over Mississippi State, 6-10 freshman Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and 6-11 freshman Jonas Aidoo got the call. ... Tennessee has now won 13 straight home games and seven SEC games in a row. ... The Vols average 10.1 steals a game, fifth in Division I. ... The Vols are in the hunt to finish in the SEC’s top four, which would give them a double-bye in the conference tourney.
UP NEXT
Vanderbilt: Things don’t get any easier for the Commodores.They travel to No. 1 Auburn on Wednesday night.
Tennessee: The Vols entertain No. 5 Kentucky on Tuesday night.
___
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
