Dec. 20, 2003

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BUZZ POSTGAME | VIDEO

By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS
AP Sports Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Brandon Crump scored 20 points and Scooter McFadgon added 19 Saturday to help Tennessee to an 87-71 victory over Georgia State.

The Volunteers (5-1) put the game away at the beginning of the second half and survived a rally that was too late for the Panthers (4-3).

Georgia State was 11-of-24 from beyond the arc but was only 6-of-7 in free throws. Tennessee, meanwhile, was 29-of-32 from the foul line.

C.J. Watson added 10 points for the Vols, who have won twice since a loss at Nebraska.

Tennessee started the second half with a 12-2 run that featured two dunks by Stanley Asumnu on the break. McFadgon gave the Vols a 60-40 lead when he capped it with two free throws after Lamont McIntosh was called for a technical foul for shoving a Tennessee player.

The Vols continued to pull away and Georgia State kept piling on the fouls to put Tennessee in the bonus early in the second half.

Tennessee was 12-of-12 from the free-throw line in the second half until Crump missed on with 5:24 remaining.

The Panthers tried to get back in the game but just ran out of time. Georgia State had a 14-2 run in the final minutes that cut the lead to 11 on Herman Favors' 3-pointer with 1:13 to go.

Marcus Brown, Nate Williams and McIntosh each scored 15 points for Georgia State, while Daniel Towns had 11.

Williams, Georgia State's leading scorer last year and an All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection, played for the first time this season after he was suspended the first six games for a violation of team rules.

The Vols led by as many as 11 points in the first half, getting a big boost from 12-of-14 shooting from the foul line. Georgia State was just 1-for-1.

Georgia State had a quick 10-2 run to tie it at 19 with 11:52 left before halftime.