Pearl's technical sparks Vols past Razorbacks

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Scotty Hopson scored 15 points to lead Tennessee (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) to an 80-73 win over Arkansas on Wednesday night. The Vols shot 54.5 percent for the game and had five players score in double figures, but it was a technical foul called on Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl that helped the Vols (22-7, 10-5 SEC) finally pull away from the Razorbacks (14-16, 7-8). Early in the second half, Tennessees Cameron Tatum was called for a charge. Pearl was charged with the technical for arguing the foul, and the Vols broke open a close game with a 10-0 run immediately after. Bobby Maze capped off the run with a long pass between two defenders to J.P. Prince, who dunked it for a 61-48 lead with 11:26 left. The Razorbacks would not get closer than six points from that point. Courtney Fortson led Arkansas with 21 points, but shot just 6-of-17. Seniors Maze, Prince, and Wayne Chism, all finished in double figures on their final night at Thompson-Boling Arena. Maze hit two 3-pointers to help Tennessee open up the second half on a 10-2 run and take a 49-38 lead with 17:14 left. The Vols only led 39-36 at halftime despite shooting 57.7 percent from the floor to the Razorbacks 39.4 percent. Tennessee took an early 17-8 lead after Hopson punctuated a 9-0 run with a steal and reverse dunk, but Arkansas used several 3-pointers over the next few minutes to tie the game at 24 with 6:19 before halftime. Stefan Welsh made a 3-pointer with 4 minutes left in the first half to give the Razorbacks a 31-30 lead, prompting Pearl to call a timeout. Chism, the Vols? all-time leader in games played, is the only member of this senior class to be at Tennessee all four years. UT is 98-36 during his career. He finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Prince also added 12 for the Vols. The Razorbacks are now on a four-game losing streak.