Tennessee basketball finishes Italy series by smashing Stella Azzura

ROME — Jordan Gainey darted to the corner, soared and swatted.

The Tennessee basketball guard blocked a Stella Azzura 3-pointer into the wall by the court, his second emphatic block. The USC Upstate transfer was in control in UT's final game in Italy, excelling on both ends throughout and keying Tennessee's best defensive effort of the tour.

The Vols walloped Stella Azzura 97-51 on Monday in Rome to end their international tour with a 3-0 record.

They beat the Lithuanian U21 national team on Friday 97-57 and 116-90 on Saturday in Florence. UT has a 22-7 record all time in international tour competition. Tennessee flies back to the United States on Wednesday.

Dalton Knecht led UT with 16 points. He averaged 16.3 points in three games and shot well from 3-point range, hitting 12-for-25.

[ Mike Wilson, who covers Tennessee men's basketball for Knox News, is the only media member traveling with the Vols during their trip to Italy. Follow his daily coverage at knoxnews.com and in the News Sentinel. ]

Gainey showed he can shoot the ball as advertised during Tennessee's games against Lithuania. On Monday, he showed he does a lot more than shoot.

The junior guard was in the right place defensively and in tracking down loose balls. He had a first-half block on a floater attempt, then denied a 3-point attempt in the third quarter. He also had three steals.

Gainey scored 13 points, including five straight to open the third. He made three 3-pointers after having six in the first two games.

DJ Jefferson turned his potential into production against Stella Azzurra. The redshirt freshman guard scored seven straight points at the end of the third quarter.

He had a monster one-handed dunk, then hit a 3-pointer and tossed in a layup to beat the buzzer. Jefferson had a rough first game against Lithuania, but came back with a stout finish. He had 13 points.

The Vols were good defensively in the first game against Lithuania and were in spurts in the second game. Lithuania guard Nojus Kuliesa hit a flurry of 3-pointers and UT gave up a lot of points after putting in its walk-ons late.

Tennessee had no such trouble in Rome. The Vols held Stella Azzurra to 14 of 49 shooting and 8 of 26 3-point shooting. Guard Eylon Poleg had 23 of Stella Azzurra's 51 points and was the lone player to have more than two field goals.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it