COL BKB: Tennessee 79, South Carolina 53

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Wayne Chism scored a career-high 30 points Saturday as 14th-ranked Tennessee trounced South Carolina 79-53 in an SEC contest.

Chism made11-of-17 shots and pulled down four rebounds as the Volunteers won their third straight.

Tennessee scored 12 of the final 16 points in the first half for a 30-16 lead at the break.

The lead swelled to 65-38 when Melvin Goins sank a layup with 8:44 left, putting the game out of reach for South Carolina.

Bobby Maze and Scotty Hopson scored 11 points apiece, while Maze added six rebounds and three assists for the Volunteers (18-4, 6-2).

Devan Downey led USC with 26 points, but made just 5-of-20 shots from the field.

Brandis Raley-Ross scored 12 points with three rebounds, Sam Muldrow six with 16 rebounds, while Downey sank 13-of-14 foul shots for the Gamecocks (13-9, 4-4).

They shot just 27.6 percent and have split their last four games.