Local Teams

Fourth-seeded Tennessee never trailed Friday in the Southeastern Conference quarterfinals, putting five players in double figures as it eliminated fifth-seeded Florida 78-66 in Nashville, Tenn.

Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points for the Volunteers (18-7), who advance to a semifinal matchup Saturday with No. 6 Alabama. Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson each scored 13, while Yves Pons added 11 points and Josiah-Jordan James chipped in 10. Johnson and James also contributed nine rebounds and six assists each.

Tre Mann kept the Gators (14-9) in contention by scoring 28 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough. Tyree Appleby added 14, but Florida made only 20 of 58 field-goal attempts (34.5 percent) in absorbing its second loss to Tennessee since Sunday.

Mann canned 7 of 11 field goals, including 5 of 7 from the 3-point line, and was 9 of 10 at the foul line after halftime. However, the Gators couldn't get any closer than seven as the Volunteers owned a double-figure lead for most of the final 17 minutes.

Tennessee sank 53.6 percent of its field goal tries in the second half, negating Mann's one-man show. Overall, the Volunteers shot 46.7 percent from the field.

Tennessee established a working margin fairly quickly by working the ball inside. Of its first seven buckets, five were layups. Combined with a pair of 3-pointers from Pons and James, it gave the Volunteers a 16-8 lead at the 13:09 mark.

James dunked with 8:29 left in the half to give Tennessee its first double-figure advantage at 20-10. The margin grew to 28-12 with 6:21 remaining when Uros Plavsic converted a layup. From that point, the Vols managed just Vescovi's 3-pointer 2:03 before intermission.

However, Florida couldn't make dramatic inroads into the lead because its offense kept sputtering. It was able to use a 3-pointer from Appleby with 1:14 on the clock to close within 31-22 at halftime.

The Gators converted just 9 of 30 shots in the first half and also coughed up nine turnovers.

--Field Level Media