Tennessee shot 54% and got a career high from Victor Bailey, Jr. to beat South Carolina 93-73.

South Carolina started out white-hot from three. The Gamecocks made seven of their first nine from behind the arc and led 23-21 at the time. But Tennessee adjusted its defense, and South Carolina only attempted two three-pointers over the final 9:30 of the first half. It was no coincidence that AJ Lawson, South Carolina’s most prolific three-point shooter, was on the bench for the final seven minutes after picking up his second foul.

The early threes masked South Carolina’s deficiencies in other areas, and those struggles gradually came to the forefront. South Carolina couldn’t guard Tennessee and got outplayed on turnovers.

At halftime Tennessee led by 11 and had 16 points off 12 South Carolina turnovers. The Gamecocks had just two points off seven Tennessee turnovers. South Carolina was able to narrow the gap in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Tennessee finished with 25 points off 18 turnovers, while South Carolina had 13 off 16 turnovers.

Tennessee stretched its lead to 16 early in the second half, but South Carolina repeatedly chipped away and was within single digits as late 6:30 left in the game. But Tennessee went on a 15-2 run to retake control of the game.

Bailey hit two of his seven three-pointers during the run and finished with a career-high 29 points. John Fulkerson made three free throws, and Yves Pons had a dunk during the run. Fulkerson finished with a season-high 19 points and Pons had 10 points and nine rebounds. It was a breakout game for the senior duo, who had averaged just 5.7 points per game combined over the last three games for Tennessee.

South Carolina was without starters Jermaine Couisnard (ankle) and Justin Minaya (head). They are South Carolina’s third and fourth-leading scorers, and two of South Carolina’s best defenders. Their absence was noticeable, as Tennessee shot 54% from the floor and South Carolina wore down over the course of the game. The Gamecocks shot just 35% in the second half and 40% for the game.

South Carolina got typical games from AJ Lawson and Keyshawn Bryant, but they didn’t get enough help. Lawson had 20 points and Bryant had 15 points and seven rebounds, but he also had seven turnovers as he sometimes forced the issue. TJ Moss answered the call with a career-high 15 points, but nobody else had more than six points.

Seventh Woods had seven assists, but was just 1-9 shooting. Trae Hannibal had four points, but four fouls and five turnovers. Jalyn McCreary had four fouls in eight minutes, scoring just two points.

Notes:

Tre-Vaughn Minott played three first half minutes and scored his first career points on a nice hook shot in the lane. … Trey Anderson got his first career start, but was quickly yanked after he failed to go after a loose ball. He finished with one point in five minutes. ... Bryant also got the start. … Moss’ previous career-high was 12 way back in 2018 against Providence. … Nathan Nelson had a career-high five points in a career-high 25 minutes. … Jaden Springer had 16 points. … South Carolina’s next game is Saturday against Missouri.