ATLANTA (AP) ‘ Tennessee is still alive for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. It sure wasn’t easy. Chris Lofton hit a 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds remaining and the fourth-ranked Volunteers survived South Carolina’s bid for a huge upset, sending Dave Odom into retirement with an 89-87 victory over the Gamecocks in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday. Tennessee (29-3) already claimed its first SEC championship in 41 years and hopes to lock up a top seed by winning the league tournament. South Carolina (14-18) made it tough in Odom’s final game; he announced in January he would step down at the end of the season. Wayne Chism led the Volunteers with 23 points, helping them dominate on the inside. Lofton was held to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, but the senior guard came through when it counted. After Dominique Archie scored off a brilliant pass from Devan Downey, putting South Carolina ahead 87-86 with 21 seconds remaining, Tennessee hustled the ball upcourt and called timeout to set up a play. While the Volunteers had been doing most of their damage in the lane, they set up a screen for Lofton at the top of the key. His open look hit nothing but net, just his second 3-pointer in 10 attempts on the day.
