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Lofton and Tennessee aim to bounce back from first loss

Nov 27, 2007 - 2:57 PM Nc A&T (4-2) at No. 12 Tennessee (5-1) 7:30 pm EST

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Chris Lofton and No. 12 Tennessee try and rebound from their first loss of the season when they host North Carolina A&T on Tuesday.

Lofton scored 18 points and JaJuan Smith added 13 but the Volunteers lost to No. 15 Texas, 97-78, in the championship game of the Legends Classic on Saturday.

Lofton was named to the all-tournament team, but has had an inauspicious start to the season shooting just 37 percent (23-of-62) from the floor and averaging a career-low 10.0 points.

Lofton and Tennessee hope to get back on track in the cozy confines of Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee is 33-2 since the start of the 2005-06 season and has won 20 straight games here, including 19 in a row over non-conference opponents.

While Lofton has been struggling, it has been Smith that has been helping them stay afloat. The senior guard is averaging 16.2 points and has a team-leading 18 steals.

The Volunteers face a North Carolina A&T team that enters with a bit of momentum, having won four straight. Senior guard Steven Rush scored a career-high 40 points and the Aggies hit a school record 10 3-pointers in a 96-93 win over DePaul on Saturday.