Chaz Lanier torches No. 13 Baylor, leads No. 11 Tennessee to title in Baha Mar Championship
Rick Barnes shrugged his shoulders. The veteran head coach was walking off the floor at halftime Friday night and had just watched Chaz Lanier go 7-for-8 from the 3-point line in the first half as No. 11 Tennessee was blitzing No. 13 Baylor in the Baha Mar Championship title game.
What did Lanier do so well in that first half?
“What he’s good at,” Barnes said during the halftime interview with CBS Sports Network. “He shot the ball. When he gets his rhythm going, that’s what he’s good at.”
To say the absolute least.
Lanier went 5-for-5 from the 3-point line in the first four minutes and scored all of his 25 points in the first half as Tennessee won the Baha Mar title by dismantling Baylor, 77-62.
Vols win tournament title in Bahamas for second time in three years
It’s the second tournament title for the Vols (6-0) in the Bahamas in the last three years. Tennessee beat Butler, USC and Kansas to win the Battle 4 Atlantis title in November 2022.
Lanier, who scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half in the 64-42 win over Virginia on Thursday, went 9-for-13 from the field in the first half against Baylor and added three rebounds and an assist.
Jordan Gainey finished with 16 points and Igor Milicic scored 10. Zakai Zeigler had seven points and nine of Tennessee’s 18 assists. Cade Phillips had 11 points and four rebounds.
Norchad Omier scored 22 for Baylor (4-2) and freshman VJ Edgecombe had 20.
In the first half alone, Lanier became the first Tennessee player to hit seven 3-pointers in a game since Victor Bailey did so against South Carolina in 2021. Lanier was scoreless in the second half, going 0-for-3 from the field, including two more 3-point attempts.
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Tennessee’s first half included 10-for-22 shooting from the 3-point line as a team, 17-for-33 from the field and 13 assists to four turnovers. Baylor had just two assists and committed nine turnovers, leading to 13 Tennessee points, and went just 9-for-29 from the field, including 2-for-10 at the 3-point line.
Up Next: No. 11 Tennessee vs. UT Martin
After two games in The Bahamas, Tennessee will return home to host Tennessee Martin on Wednesday at Food City Center, a 4 p.m. Eastern Time start on SEC Network+.
Syracuse comes to Knoxville on December 3 for the SEC-ACC Challenge on the Vols go back on the road on December 10 for a neutral-site game against Miami in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Tennessee stays on the road at Illinois on December 14, finishing a two-year home-and-home that started with a win over the Illini in Knoxville last December.
The Vols host Western Carolina (December 17) and Middle Tennessee (December 23) before the Christmas break. Norfolk State (December 31) is the final non-conference game before SEC play opens at home against Arkansas on January 4.
