Trailing by 17-points to the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs Friday night, the Tennessee Volunteers were forced to turn to seniors’ Ron Slay and Jon Higgins to rescue them in the second half against the upset minded visitors and pull out a 71-69 win thanks to a last minute Higgins three-pointer.
Second-year Head Coach Buzz Peterson signed a ballyhooed crop of recruits in his first full recruiting class but saw the freshman play like, well, freshmen, in their first action under the bright lights. The five rookies combined for just five points in the contest.
Junior Brandon Crump (15), along with Slay (31) and Higgins (20) combined for 66 of the Vols’ 71 points on the night. Their steady scoring helped UT shoot 44.8 percent from the field in the second half to turn a 39-26 Gardner-Webb halftime lead around.
Freshman point guard C.J. Watson had a solid first game with three-points, five-rebounds and five assists in 34-minutes. Watson committed just one turnover in the game.
Watson’s fellow freshmen Justin Albrecht, John Winchester and Stanley Asumnu played sparingly and were a combined 1-8 from the field. Six-foot-ten Boomer Herndon failed to make the final box score.
The 31-points was a career high for Slay, who missed most of last season with a knee injury. Slay finished 9-19 from the field and 10-10 from the free throw line in 34 minutes. Crump led the Vols in rebounds with seven and was 6-12 from the field and 3-3 from the line. Higgins was 5-9 from behind the arc.
The Vols hosted VMI and sophomore sensation Jason Conley Monday night. Conley became the first freshman to lead the nation in scoring last season.

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