KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Volunteers shot a season-high 54.8 percent from the field and forced 25 Colonel turnovers on their way to defeating the Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team Friday night in Thompson-Boling Arena, 92-58. With the win, Tennessee improves to 3-0 while the Colonels fall to 1-3.

Mike Rose, the OVC Freshman of the Week, led Eastern with 13 points on 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) shooting against the Volunteers. Meanwhile, seniors Alonzo Hird and Jason McLeish each added 13 points for EKU in its first meeting with Tennessee since 1984.

Tennessee's Major Wingate posted a game-high 18 points while Chris Lofton chipped in with 17 while going 4-of-8 (50 percent) from behind the three-point arc.

The Colonels took their only lead of the night three minutes into the game when a McLeish free throw gave EKU a slim 5-4 advantage. Tennessee responded with a 9-2 run and would not look back the rest of the game. Wingate tallied 14 of his 18 points in the opening 20 minutes while going 4-of-4 from the field and converting all six free throw attempts to help UT take a 44-29 cushion into the intermission.

Eastern threatened to cut the deficit to single digits early in the second stanza thanks to a 6-0 run spurred on by Hird and McLeish made the score, 46-35. However, the Volunteers bounced back with eight straight points of their own to end any thoughts of an EKU comeback.

Eastern Kentucky will next play its first home game of the season on Monday, Nov. 28, when Division II West Virginia Wesleyan visits McBrayer Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.