KNOXVILLE — Wednesday was supposed to be Bruce Pearl’s night.

But his best player stole the show.

Tyler Smith put up the first triple-double in University of Tennessee men’s basketball history in the Volunteers’ 87-69 victory over UNC Asheville.

Pearl’s 400th career victory never seemed in serious doubt but Smith gave it a second historical footnote with by collecting 12 point, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in just 26 minutes.

“He’s a Tennessee boy,” Pearl said of Smith. “He came home to do this. He’s one of the most productive players in college basketball ... and the most productive player I’ve ever coached.”

Smith had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in the first half, and he was just two assists shy of history with more than 16 minutes left in the second half.

He knew it, too.

“Our new scoreboard is really nice, and it shows everything,” Smith said with a smile. “I knew how close I was, and after barely missing one last year against Florida, I didn’t want to come up short again.”

Assist No. 9 came on a pass that reserve point guard Josh Tabb laid in, and Hopson finished the tenth with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:47 left in the game.

That might have been Smith’s last chance to secure the triple-double, too, because he sat out the final seven-plus minutes of a second half that saw UT lead by nearly 30 points.

“He’s just good at everything, and he’s really unselfish,” Tabb said of Smith. “He would make any team better.”

A slightly subdued crowd of 19,391 in Thompson-Boling Arena awoke to give Smith a standing ovation during a media timeout with just under eight minutes left.

That crowd didn’t have much more to cheer for, though, aside from a few typical spurts that gave UT (6-1) more than enough separation from the Bulldogs (3-4), who lost 116-48 at top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday night.

UT still showed effects from a long weekend at Orlando’s Old Spice Classic, when its third game in four days was a Sunday night loss to fifth-ranked Gonzaga. The Vols returned to Knoxville at 2:30 a.m. Monday, struggled through Tuesday’s practice and still looked sluggish most of Wednesday night.

“This looked like a basketball team that was getting ready for finals, and just not really inspired,” Pearl said. “Sometimes when you just get back from a tournament that had so many great teams, and so much visibility and exposure, and you play for the championship against maybe a Final Four team ... this is what happens to a young team (in response).

“From that standpoint, this was a lesson learned.”

Smith led the Vols in points, rebounds and assists. Guards Cameron Tatum, J.P. Prince and Tabb added 10 points apiece off the bench.

Pearl was pleased with Prince, considering the junior’s stomach virus. Prince needed an IV on Wednesday afternoon and was barely cleared to play, but he collected 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and just one turnover in 17 minutes.

“As a coach, you like to see that kind of toughness,” Pearl said.

Pearl didn’t make many more compliments, though. UT made just six of its first 26 shots from the field, and one of its first 10 shots from the perimeter.

J.P. Primm swished a 3 to get the Bulldogs within 26-21 with 5:23 left if the first half, but a Brian Williams slam ignited UT’s 17-6, half-ending run.

Tabb laid in a half-court lob pass from Smith to the Vols up 43-27 just before the break.

UT out-rebounded the vertically-deficient Bulldogs, 53-35, but it also allowed UNCA to shoot better than 51 percent in the second half. That clearly perturbed Pearl, whose team also allowed Georgetown and Gonzaga to shoot better than 50 percent.

“Some of that was the (lopsided) score, but not as much as I’ve like to give it credit for,” Pearl said. “We just need to be better on that end of the floor.”

Reid Augst and John Williams led UNCA with 14 points each. A third undersized forward, Jason Ridenhour, added 10 points.

UT will focus on fall semester exams and practice this week. The Vols don’t play again until a Dec. 13 game at Temple, and they’ll play Marquette in Nashville on Dec. 16 before returning home for a Dec. 20 game against Belmont.

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