Freshman Williams Leads Vols

The 12th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers may not want to play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on a neutral court ever again.

Freshman Brian Williams scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Tennessee held off Western Kentucky 88-82 Saturday night in the second game of the Sun Belt Classic doubleheader.

It was a big victory for the Volunteers (9-1), who improved to 1,400-904-2 all-time, the fourth-most wins in Southeastern Conference history. They won their fourth straight this season, but it wasn't easy with a cold start by preseason All-American Chris Lofton in a foul-filled game.

Western Kentucky (7-3) had no reason to be in awe or intimidated by the Volunteers in the second meeting between these teams.

Even with lots of Tennessee orange, Hilltopper red filled up a good share of the seats, with most of the 18,010 fans who bought tickets for the doubleheader sticking around for the late game.

JaJuan Smith led Tennessee with 19 points. Tyler Smith added 16, and Lofton finished with 14 after missing his first six shots.

Courtney Lee scored 23 points for Western Kentucky. Tyrone Brazelton and Ty Rogers each had 16.