No. 20 Tennessee dominates inside, crushes Gardner-Webb

Field Level Media|published: Sun 21st December, 17:03 2025

NCAA Basketball: Gardner-Webb at Tennessee

Dec 21, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward J.P. Estrella (13) shoots the ball against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Amaree Abram scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field as No. 20 Tennessee shrugged off a slow start and ran away from Gardner-Webb 94-52 on Sunday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.

Following their best win this season when they beat No. 11 Louisville 83-62 on Tuesday, the Volunteers (9-3) saw leading scorer Ja'Kobi Gillespie reach double figures for the 11th straight time with 15 points and add nine assists.

Jaylen Carey posted 12 points and six rebounds, while fellow big man J.P. Estrella had 10 points and seven boards. DeWayne Brown II notched six points and 14 rebounds as Tennessee posted a 50-25 rebounding advantage.

The Volunteers shot 53.5% from the floor and were 10 of 31 (32.3%) from 3-point range.

Curtis Williams III scored 14 points and had four rebounds and D.J. Jefferson scored 13 for the Runnin' Bulldogs (2-13), who made 20 of 58 shots (34.5%) from the field and 7 of 30 (23.3%) from beyond the arc.

Tennessee improved to 7-0 at home, while Gardner-Webb remained winless through eight road games.

The Big South team started better than the Volunteers, forging a 5-0 lead three minutes into the matchup behind a 3-pointer from Williams and two free throws by Jacob Hogarth.

However, the Volunteers came to life and raced off on a 24-2 run over a span of 7:25 before Jefferson, a former Volunteers player, sank a 25-foot 3-pointer at 9:17 to leave the home side up 24-10.

To cap the half, Brown had a putback bucket in the final seconds as Tennessee went on a 14-2 run over the last four minutes.

The Volunteers led 52-19 behind Estrella's 10 points and six rebounds as they shot 57.9% (22 of 38) from the floor and dominated in the lane with nine offensive rebounds and a 34-8 advantage in points in the paint.

Williams had eight points and made three of Gardner-Webb's seven successful field goals (7 of 28, 25%). The team was 3 of 16 (19%) from long range.

Tennessee kept it up in the second half by outscoring the Runnin' Bulldogs 42-33 on the way to its second straight win following a three-game losing streak.

--Field Level Media

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