The University of Tennessee men's basketball team started its 2025-26 regular season campaign with a 76-61 win over Mercer.

Freshman forward Nate Ament, in his collegiate debut, paced a balanced scoring attack with a game-best 19 points for No. 18/17 Tennessee (1-0) at Food City Center, where the program is now 36-3 in home openers.

After a sluggish start, the Volunteers rattled off eight straight points in 2:18 to jumpstart an extended 21-6 surge over 8:50 to take a 25-14 lead with 5:31 on the first-half time. They held Mercer (0-1) without a made field goal for a span of 7:14, forcing eight consecutive misses from the floor.

Tennessee pushed its margin as high as 14 in the opening half and took a 12-point edge, 33-21, into the locker room. It limited the Bears to just 21.2 percent (7-

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