Thursday, December 23, 2004
Contact: Stan Cole

Tennessee Deals Campbell 90-49 Loss

KNOXVILLE, TENN. -- Tennessee shot 58 percent from the floor and handed Campbell a 90-49 loss Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

After leading by 27 at the break, the Volunteers (6-4) opened the second half on a 25-2 run and led by as many as 50 points.

C.J. Watson led Tennessee with 20 points on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Scooter McFadgon added 18, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, while the nation's most-accurate 3-point shooter, freshman Chris Lofton, added 16, including 3-of-4 from downtown.

Maurice Latham and Dominique Klein led the Camels, who lost their third-straight game, with 10 apiece. Klein and Russ Gibson each added eight rebounds.

Anthony Atkinson's triple from the right side brought Campbell (2-6) within 15-13 with 13:17 left in the opening half. Tennessee, however answered with a 17-0 run in the midst of a 25-4 flurry over an 8:11 span to break the game open.

The Volunteers connected on 69.6 percent of their attempts (16-23) from the field in the opening period, including 8-10 from 3-point range, and 11-11 free throws while taking a 51-24 lead at the break. Watson scored 14 and McFadgon 13 in the first half.

For the game, Tennessee hit 14-22 threes (.636) and 30-52 from the floor overall while winning its second-straight.

Campbell shot 40.5 percent (17-42) from the field, just 2-of-9 from 3-point territory. The Camels committed a season-high 27 turnovers.

Thompson-Boling Arena (capacity 24,535) is the largest venue to host a basketball game involving Campbell. Thursday's announced crowd of 10,443 is the seventh-largest attendance ever at a CU contest.

Campbell continues its seven-game road stretch at number-8 Kentucky next Wednesday (Dec. 29). The Camels are 1-25 all-time against current Southeastern Conference members. [Box Score]