ForumsLed by Scotty Hopson’s game-high 23 points, Tennessee defeated South Carolina on Wednesday night by a score of 73-67 at Thompson Boling Arena, snapping a three-game losing streak. It was the first home game for Bruce Pearl after serving his eight game conference suspsension.
The Vols (16-10, 6-5 SEC), who rank last in the league in free throw attempts, hit 21-35 from the line, including 7-for-8 in the game’s final minute.
“It’s good to be back at home,” Bruce Pearl said. “I felt like our homecourt advantage, our crowd, helped us win tonight.”
Pearl, who hasn’t been pleased with the production of his point guards, urged Melvin Goins focus more on passing the basketball. He also shuffled the rotation, using Skylar McBee to back up Goins instead of freshman Trae Golden.
“I thought Melvin (Goins) did a better job distributing the basketball with six assists,” Pearl said. “I asked Melvin to pass more and shoot less. I was not happy with his turnovers.”
“Skyler McBee hit a big three there and didn’t turn the ball over,” Pearl added. “I’d like to play Skyler a little bit more.”
Cameron Tatum scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
“It was great to see Cameron’s effort,” Pearl said. “Cameron had three assists, no turnovers, two steals. If he shot it better from the foul line, he would have had a great game.”
Brian Williams just missed a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He also dished out five assists.
Tobias Harris added 10 points and eight rebounds, but turned the ball over five times.
South Carolina (13-11, 4-7 SEC) attempted 73 shots — 21 more than Tennessee — but managed just 33% shooting.
Tennessee next plays Georgia at Thompson Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
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