Tennessee 66, South Carolina 62: Kevin Punter and Josh Richardson scored 13 points apiece as the Volunteers survived a late charge from the host Gamecocks in SEC play.

Armani Moore chipped in 11 points as Tennessee (12-5, 4-1) won for the eighth time in nine games. Derek Reese collected eight rebounds to go with eight points for the Volunteers, who shot 57.5 percent from the field and 10-of-18 from 3-point range.

Sindarius Thornwell had 17 points and seven rebounds for South Carolina (10-7, 1-4), which has lost 15 consecutive games to Tennessee. Demetrius Henry contributed 12 points and eight rebounds as the Gamecocks lost for the fourth time in five games.

Tennessee led by five points at halftime but seven straight points by Richardson advanced the edge to 46-31 with just over 15 minutes remaining. The Volunteers held a 17-point lead after a 3-pointer by Detrick Mostella with less than 9 1/2 minutes left but the Gamecocks later went on a 15-2 burst to pull within 64-62 on Michael Carrera’s tip-in with 32.4 seconds left before Reese and Richardson each made one free throw as Tennessee held on.

The Volunteers led by eight points nine minutes into the contest but South Carolina later rolled off seven straight and tied the score at 22 on Thornwell’s jumper. Richardson answered with a basket to put Tennessee back on top and Moore’s layup with two seconds left made it 31-26 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Richardson (1,006) became the 47th player in Tennessee history to reach 1,000 career points. … The Gamecocks shot 34.4 percent from the field and were 4-of-17 from 3-point range … The Volunteers committed 18 turnovers, including eight by Richardson.