No. 24 Tennessee 82, South Carolina 79

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tyler Smith scored 20 points and No. 24
Tennessee, which led by 17 points in the second half, beat South
Carolina 82-79 on Saturday night.
    The Volunteers (11-5, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) avoided their
first three-game home losing streak under coach Bruce Pearl.
Tennessee has lost two in a row twice in Pearl’s four seasons.
    Tennessee led by as many as 19 points in the first half and was
up 17 with 8:18 left on a dunk by Scotty Hopson, who had a
career-high 19 points.
    South Carolina ramped up its defense while the Vols got lax, and
the Gamecocks whittled down the margin thanks to several inside
shots by Devan Downey.
    Zam Fredrick hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to cut
Tennessee’s lead to 81-77, but Bobby Maze of the Vols hit a free
throw with 15 seconds left.
    Downey and Dominque Archie both had 19 points for South Carolina
(12-4, 1-2).