Koenig's 21 leads Wisconsin past Tennessee in Maui

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Wisconsin jumped out to a big early lead, only to see Tennessee put together two runs to take the lead.

The Badgers are a veteran team, though, and they managed to keep their calm during the Vols' storm.

Bronson Koenig scored 21 points, Nigel Hayes had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 16 Wisconsin opened the Maui Invitational with a 74-62 win over Tennessee on Monday.

"I like how hard they played," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "I didn't think they flinched when Tennessee made a run, which we knew they would do. There's a lot of things we would take from this. This is what makes this tournament is that you see good competition three days in a row, and you've got to continue to improve from game to game."

Wisconsin (3-1) built its big early lead behind good shooting and rallied after Tennessee made two runs to take the lead early in the second half. Hayes hit a couple of big 3-pointers and the Badgers pulled away late to earn a spot in the second round against Georgetown on Tuesday.