St. Thomas, VI (Sports Network) - Scotty Hopson scored a game-high 25 points to pace 10th-ranked Tennessee to a 105-66 rout of East Carolina in an opening- round Paradise Jam contest.
Bobby Maze had 15 points for the Volunteers (3-0), who will play DePaul in a second-round contest Sunday. Cameron Tatum added 14 points, while Tyler Smith had 13 in the victory, as Tennessee shot 58 percent from the field and sank 13 three-pointers.
Brock Young had 15 points to pace East Carolina (1-3), which has dropped its last three games. The Pirates will play Northern Iowa, which lost to DePaul earlier Friday, on Saturday.
Jontae Sherrod and Chris Turner had 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.
Though the game was tight throughout the early parts of the first half, the Vols started to pull away with a 14-3 run. Maze capped the rally with a jumper to make it a 37-23 contest with under four minutes left, and Tennessee went into halftime with a 43-27 advantage.
A Brian Williams layup nearly five minutes into the second half extended Tennessee's lead to 60-39. About a minute later, Skylar McBee canned a three to make it a 66-41 game, and the Vols cruised from there.
Game Notes: The Vols have reached the 100-point mark in back-to-back games, as they defeated UNC-Asheville by a 124-49 score on Tuesday...Tennessee holds a 3-0 record against East Carolina all-time. The schools' last meeting took place in 1991.