KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Chris Lofton scored 24 points and became Tennessee's all-time 3-point shooter in the 12th-ranked Volunteers' 86-73 victory over UNC-Asheville on Wednesday night.
J.P. Prince added 13 points and seven assists for Tennessee (10-1), which played its only December home game. The Volunteers have won 23 consecutive games at Thompson-Boling Arena.
K.J. Garland had 22 points and Bryan Smithson added 21 for the Bulldogs (8-3).
The Volunteers were coming off an 88-82 victory over Western Kentucky in Nashville on Saturday, their first game after an 11-day break for exams.
On Wednesday, Tennessee took an early 10-point lead and was never seriously threatened, extending the lead to as many as 27 points in the second half.
The Bulldogs didn't make a field goal until almost 5 minutes had been played and didn't break into double figures on the scoreboard until 11 minutes had passed.
UNC-Asheville entered the game leading the Big South Conference in field goal percentage (50.4).
Still, the Bulldogs didn't roll over, cutting their deficit to nine points with 3 minutes to play. Tennessee responded with baskets by Lofton and JaJuan Smith and two free throws by Jordan Howell to help decide matters.
Tennessee has the nation's fifth-longest winning streak at home, a place the Volunteers won't see again until their Jan. 9 Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi. They are 36-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season and 22-0 in nonconference play under third-year coach Bruce Pearl.
Lofton passed Allan Houston's record of 346 3-pointers 8 minutes into the first half. He has 349 3s, 18 short of passing Arkansas' Pat Bradley for the all-time SEC mark. Lofton's 24 points allowed him to pass Vincent Yarbrough for eighth on Tennessee's career scoring list.
JaJuan Smith had 13 points for Tennessee, while Tyler Smith rounded out a quartet of Volunteers in double figures with 12.
Prince scored his 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench in his second significant game action for the Volunteers. The 6-foot-7 sophomore, who transferred from Arizona midway through last season, had eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals against Western Kentucky.
