Reminders of last year’s success show in impressive win over Memphis; Pearl says there is still much

The Tennessee men’s basketball team showed that they are capable of beating a top 20 team for the first time Wednesday night with a 76-58 victory over in-state rival Memphis. The Vol’s impressive win over the Tigers showcased a balanced team effort and an especially memorable night for junior guard Chris Lofton. The 2006-07\' Vols have played well at times this year, but have lacked consistency so far in this young season. Wednesday’s prime time game against Memphis was the first true test for the Vols at Thompson Boling Arena in front of the home crowd. Second-year head coach Bruce Pearl has shifted the starting lineup several times so far, with the only mainstays being JuJuan Smith, Dane Bradshaw, and Chris Lofton. While the scorebook may not reflect Bradshaw’s brilliance in the contest, Lofton’s final stats reflect his play accurately. Lofton started quickly on both ends of the floor against the Tigers. His 21 points in the first half equaled the difference in the score as the Vols took a comfortable 43-22 lead into the locker room. Lofton finished the game with a career-high 34 points. According to Pearl, none deserves the success more than Lofton. “It’s great when your hardest working player is also the best,” said Pearl of the Vols’ junior All-American candidate. “He’s a tremendous athelete.” Coming out for the second half with focus is one of the problems Tennessee has been faced with so far in its current campaign. Wednesday night was no different. The Vols shot poorly during the opening minutes of the second half, but sooner than later, they got back on track. The inspired play of Bradshaw, and an energetic Duke Crews, were key in leading the Big Orange to victory. Crews approached Coach Pearl before the game and proposed the idea of letting fellow freshman Wayne Chism, a West Tennessee native, take his place in the starting lineup. Chism’s high school teammate, Memphis freshman point guard, Willie Kemp chose the Tigers over Tennessee when deciding where to play his college ball. As a result, it was unusually important for Chism to be involved in the game. Chism made his impact felt immediately. He set the tone for the entire game by drawing a charge on the initial play of the contest. Tennessee took a big step in its growth as a basketball program, showing that it could be just as physical and aggressive as the always-athletic Memphis club. Crews took on all comers with an inspired effort. “He was a man tonight,” said a proud Pearl. Memphis’ outspoken head coach John Calipari has been very vocal about playing Tennessee since the arrival of Bruce Pearl. Wednesday night’s win only throws fuel on the fire for what could be a long-standing rivalry between the two schools. Another main component of the Vol’s success was the team’s sudden ability to cash in at the free throw line. After struggling with the freebies through the first eight games of the year, the team made 17 of 20 from the charity stripe vs. Memphis Wednesday. Freshman point guard Ramar Smith helped his case in silencing his early-season critics by connecting on five of six free throws. Smith also showed some flair with the ball in his hands and continued his always-steady defensive play. Lofton’s first of six threes gave the Vol’s a lead they would never surrender at 12-11 with 13:46 remaining in the first half. With the crowd in firm position as the sixth man, Memphis became uncharacteristically rattled. They would not recover. Everyone on the Volunteer squad played with a confidence that had not been put on display yet this season. But things don’t get any easier for the Vols. After a 10-day break for finals, next Saturday’s match-up is against a quality Western Kentucky team. Tennessee needs to be ready for a midday test against another NCAA tournament caliber team. The game is scheduled for 4:00 at Thompson Boling Arena.