Tennessee 72, South Carolina 53: Jordan McRae scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half as the host Volunteers routed the Gamecocks in SEC play.

Jarnell Stokes added 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as Tennessee (15-8, 6-4) won for the third time in four games. Jeronne Maymon contributed 10 points and eight rebounds as the Volunteers defeated South Carolina for the 13th consecutive time.

Sindarius Thornwell scored 15 points for the Gamecocks (8-15, 1-9), who have lost nine of their last 10 games. Brenton Williams had just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting after averaging 24 points over the previous five games.

The Volunteers led comfortably nearly the entire game, but the Gamecocks did rattle off 10 straight points to move within 54-41 with just over nine minutes left to play. Armani Moore and McRae answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and Maymon followed with a layup to get the lead back over 20.

Tennessee scored the game’s first 10 points and led 16-2 just 6 1/2 minutes in. A 12-4 burst later in the half boosted the lead to 23 with about 3 1/2 minutes left and the Volunteers took a 45-22 lead into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: McRae made five 3-pointers in the first half and finished 6-of-8 beyond the arc. … South Carolina shot just 35.7 percent from the field and was 3-of-14 from 3-point range. … The Volunteers recorded 10 steals while forcing 14 turnovers.