NASSAU, Bahamas – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team opened the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship with a 64-42 victory Thursday night over Virginia.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier paced all scorers with 26 points, including 18 in the final 18 minutes, for No. 11/9 Tennessee (5-0) at the Baha Mar Convention Center.
The Volunteers used an 11-2 run in 4:23, including eight straight points in just 1:52, to take a 17-10 lead with 7:17 on the first-half timer. They held Virginia (3-1) without a field goal for 6:21, a span that included 4:09 without a point.
Tennessee took an eight-point edge, 22-14, with 2:51 to go in the frame, but the Cavaliers scored the final seven points of the session, including a 3-pointer right before the buzzer, to make it a 22-21 ledger at the break. After being held to a 2-of-13 field-goal start with eight turnovers through 13-plus minutes, Virginia went 5-of-11 down with just one giveaway the stretch of the session. Neither side shot over 30.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but Tennessee had the edge in 3-point connections (four to two), while Virginia did so in free-throw makes (five to zero).
The Volunteers opened the second half on a 15-3 run to go ahead by a then-game-best 13 points, 37-24, with 13:06 to go. They got 11 straight points on four consecutive made field goals, including a trio of 3-pointers, from Lanier—that put him over 1,000 points as a collegian—to begin the surge, which also featured nine straight points in 2:46.
Virginia responded shortly thereafter with an 8-0 run in just 1:32—it also made four straight field goals after starting 8-of-30 through 27 minutes—to pull within five, 39-34, with 10:48 to go. However, the Volunteers quickly regained complete control.
Tennessee soon went on a dominant 18-0 spurt in just 5:16 to go ahead by a game-high 26 points, 64-38, with 1:43 to go. The stretch came during a period in which it limited the Cavaliers to 1-of-13 shooting, with eight misses in a row, after its four consecutive makes. The Volunteers held Virginia without a point for 6:22 and without a field goal for 7:06.
The Cavaliers scored the last four points, giving Tennessee a final margin of 22 points, its fourth consecutive victory by at least that many.
Lanier finished with 26 points, the most by a Volunteer this season, on 10-of-23 shooting, including a 6-of-12 long-range clip, and pulled down four rebounds. Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., who spent his freshman year at Virginia in 2021-22, totaled 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. He shot 5-of-10 from the floor, 2-of-3 beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the line, plus dished out three assists.
Senior guard Jahmai Mashack filled the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, a career-high-tying four steals and two blocks. He also served as the primary defender on Virginia junior guard Isaac McKneely, who had just four points on 1-of-6 field-goal shooting after entering the night averaging a team-best 16.0 per game.
Sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames was the lone Cavalier to reach double figures, ending the contest with 12 points.
Tennessee limited Virginia to just 28.6 percent (14-of-47) shooting on the night, including a 27.6 percent (8-of-29) ledger from inside the arc. It also recorded a spectacular 30-2 margin in points off turnovers, forcing 18 and committing only seven. The Volunteers, for the third time in 2024-25, did not concede a fast-break point.
The 42 points for Virginia tied the second-lowest point total by a Power Six foe against Tennessee in head coach Rick Barnes‘ 10 years at the helm. Additionally, Tennessee went without a live-ball turnover for the third time in the last 20 seasons (2005-25), as the Cavaliers did not register a single steal.
The Volunteers are back in action Friday at 9:30 p.m. in the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship title game against No. 13/14 Baylor, live on CBS Sports Network.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Thursday’s game started at 10:25 p.m., 55 minutes after its scheduled time, as the preceding Baylor/St. John’s contest went to double-overtime, and it ended Friday after midnight.
• Barnes now possesses 180 victories over programs with a national championship, including 40 in his 10 years at Tennessee.
• Barnes improved to 13-5 against ACC schools—based off the current membership—during his Tennessee tenure, including 12-2 versus all schools other than North Carolina.
• The Volunteers moved to 123-101 all-time versus current ACC institutions, including 6-1 over the last four seasons (2021-25).
• Competing at the Baha Mar Championship for the first time, the Volunteers improved to 8-2 all-time in the Bahamas, now possessing five straight wins, with each of the prior nine games coming in the prior 10 seasons at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
• The Volunteers are now 11-10 across nine multi-team events in Barnes’ 10 years, including 8-5 outside the continental United States and 6-1 in the Bahamas.
• Tennessee has now won its first five games of the season for the third time in the last six campaigns, joining 2019-20 (5-0) and 2020-21 (7-0).
• As announced prior to tip-off, Tennessee played without sophomore guard Cameron Carr, who is out 4-6 weeks with a left thumb injury, and sophomore forward J.P. Estrella, who is continuing to be evaluated for a left foot injury.
• The Volunteers are now 22-0 under Barnes when holding their opponents to 30.0 shooting or below, with this the 11th time it has achieved that feat against a Power Six foe.
• In addition, this is the 17th time a Barnes-led Tennessee team has held its opponent under 29.0 percent shooting, with this the eighth time versus a Power Six team and the second—it has done so against both ACC schools it has played—in 2024-25.
• Tennessee moved to 30-0 under Barnes when holding its opponent under 50 points, with this the 12th time it has held a Power Six team below that figure in his tenure.
• Additionally, the Volunteers have now held their foe to 45 or fewer points 20 times under Barnes, including the ninth time against a Power Six team.
• Virginia’s 42 points tied for the eighth-fewest by a Tennessee opponent in the Barnes era, including matching the second-lowest point total by a Power Six team, matching the mark at South Carolina on Jan. 7, 2023, and trailing just the 41 versus Georgia on Jan. 25, 2023.
• Thursday marked the seventh time in the Barnes era the Volunteers have allowed 42 or fewer points and conceded a field-goal clip of 28.0 percent or below, including just the second time against a Power Six team, alongside a Jan. 7, 2023, outing at South Carolina.
• The lone two other times in the past 20 years (2005-25) the Volunteers conceded zero steals were Feb. 26, 2015, against Vanderbilt and Feb. 26, 2008, at Vanderbilt.
• Tennessee has won both its game against ACC foes this year by exactly 22 points, as it won at Louisville, 77-55, on Nov. 9.
• Fifth-year senior guard Darlinstone Dubar, who missed the first four games of the season due to a personal matter, made his Tennessee debut with 15:00 on the first-half clock and 20 seconds later, on his first offensive possession, threw down a putback dunk, en route to finishing with four points and three rebounds.
• Neither team scored for nearly the first three minutes, as Mashack put the first points on the board with 17:04 on the timer.
• Lanier scored Tennessee’s first eight points of the second half, connecting on three straight shots to give him 16 in the game at that time, pushing his career total at 1,000, reaching that tally on a baseline jump-shot with 15:52 remaining.
• For Lanier, Thursday marked the ninth 25-point showing of his career, including his first as a Volunteer.
• Miličić has totaled at least 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists in each of the last three contests.
• Senior guard Zakai Zeigler led all players with six assists, the 50th time in his career he has posted five-plus.
• Senior guard Jordan Gainey pulled down seven rebounds, tying a career high he recorded five times during his tenure at USC Upstate, most recently on Dec. 20, 2022, at Kennesaw State.
