Tennessee raced out to a huge early and sleepy 20-point lead before nearly coasting over the shoulder against Vanderbilt tonight. Fortunately, the rumble strip jarred them awake just in time to finally seal the deal, 67-62 over the Commodores.

It really wasn’t close at all for much of the game, as the Vols’ tenacious defense stifled Vandy and held them to a woeful 15 first half points. It was just more of the same to being the second, with Tennessee extending the lead to 41-21 with 14:28 left in the game.

Cue Riley LaChance.

After a teammate’s layup and a couple of free throws, Vandy’s LaChance found his three-point range. After going 0-3 from the arc in the first half, he hit 4-6 in the second, and scored 15 straight points for Vanderbilt over a three-minute stretch. At that point, Tennessee started sprinting at him when and wherever he had the ball, which opened up huge lanes leading directly to the basket and multiple opportunities for assists to open teammates. By the time the clock hit 7:06, the ‘Dores had cut the Vols lead from 20 to 4.

Cue the rumble strip.

Admiral Schofield shook everyone awake and hit two free throws, but then everyone on both teams went cold and clunky for a time. Vandy resorted to hack-a-Shaq on Grant Williams, and Williams mostly made them pay. Still, the lead was down to only two points with 1:19 left after a Jeff Roberson free throw.

Cue the woo. And the whew.

On the next possession, Schofield drove to the basket, drew a double team, and passed outside to Lamonte Turner, who hit a clutch three and extended the Vols lead to 63-58. LaChance missed a well-defended three-point attempt, and Schofield and Jordan Bowden raced to the other end for a layup and a 7-point lead. From there, the foul fest was on, and Tennessee eased into the garage safe and sound at 67-62.

Bowden silenced talk of any shooting slump and led the team with 19 points on 6-10 shooting (5-7 from three), and Williams was just behind him with 18. Other than that, it was a team effort, although you shouldn’t be surprised if Derrick Walker starts to see more minutes, as he’s becoming more and more reliable and effective near the basket.

The Vols move to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. Next up is a trip to Iowa State on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.

Go Vols.