BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Jordan McRae scored 19 points and Jarnell Stokes registered his 25th career double-double to lead Tennessee to a 68-50 victory against LSU in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Tuesday.
McRae, who made all three of his 3-point attempts, also handed out five assists. Stokes finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Antonio Barton, who made four 3-pointers, added 14 for the Volunteers (10-4), who have won six consecutive games against the Tigers.
LSU (9-4) had only two players in double-figure scoring. Jordan Mickey had 14 points, while Johnny O’Bryant III chipped in with 11. Senior Andre Stringer failed to score a point for the first time in his career.
The Volunteers protected their double-digit lead throughout the second half. In the first eight minutes after halftime, LSU cut its deficit to a dozen points on three occasions. Each time, Tennessee answered with a basket — twice by Stokes.
