BATON ROGUE, La. — Bigger was better on the Bayou.

LSU's front line overwhelmed Tennessee en route to an 88-74 victory before a crowd of 7,753 Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU (10-5, 2-0 SEC) won its 10th consecutive league game at home. It doesn't get easier for the Vols (11-2, 2-1), who had their five-game winning streak snapped. UT will play at No. 5 Memphis on Wednesday and play host to No. 2 Florida next Saturday.

Glen "Big Baby'' Davis, LSU's 6-foot-9, 310-pound center, scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds. The Tigers' other inside force, 6-9 freshman Tyrus Thomas, scored 17 points had nine rebounds and nine blocked shots.

"You want to slug it out with that size, you won't have a chance,'' said UT coach Bruce Pearl, who was assessed a technical foul for arguing a call with the Vols down 74-62 and 2:42 remaining. "Our only chance was to turn it into a track meet, and they beat us at that, too.''

The Tigers were off and running in the second half, turning the Vols' misses into thunderous dunks and layups to stave off any hope of a UT comeback.

Tennessee forced 25 LSU turnovers, but the Tigers overcame that by blocking 13 shots and out-rebounding UT 43-25.

LSU made the most of its shots in the second half, making 19 of 25 field-goal attempts (76 percent) in scoring 58 points over the final 20 minutes.

"Anytime you let a team shoot over 70 percent in the second half, you won't beat anybody,'' UT senior Andre Patterson said. "And we didn't do anything in the half-court (offense).''

LSU's man-to-man defense kept the Vols' perimeter game in check from the onset. UT connected on just 6 of 22 3-point attempts (27.3 percent) and was 30-of-75 from the floor (40 percent).

Sophomore Chris Lofton was held without a 3-pointer for the first time this season and only the second time in his career. Lofton, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points a game, had a season-low two points on 1-of-7 shooting.

"It's not going to happen often when C-Lo (Lofton) has a bad night and scores two points,'' said UT center Major Wingate, who had 13 points and three rebounds. "It shows how much we need him.''

C.J. Watson scored a team-high 18 points, but eight of them came in the final 3A 1/2 minutes with the Vols down by double digits.

Stanley Asumnu had 13 points and Patterson chipped in 10 for the Vols.

"We got our share of opportunities inside; we had 38 points in the paint to LSU's 44,'' Pearl said. "But their length and size was a factor.''

LSU held a 30-27 halftime lead and built on it, opening the second half on a 9-0 run to go up 39-27 on Ben Voogd's bank shot at the 16:40 mark.

UT fought back by hitting eight of its next nine shots, cutting the Tigers' lead to 46-44 on an Asumnu drive with 12:03 left.

LSU, however, was just too powerful. Davis and Thomas combined to score 16 of the Tigers' next 21 points and LSU built a 67-56 lead with 4:36 left.

UT drew no closer than nine for the game's remainder.

The Vols led twice, 2-0 and 4-2, the last lead coming when Lofton hit his only shot of the game with 16:35 remaining in the first half.

Injury Update: Wingate said he re-injured his back and it limited his effectiveness in the second half. Wingate outscored Davis 9-6 in the first half.

Wingate said Watson's hamstrings were bothering him and Dane Bradshaw was playing on an ankle he twisted against Georgia on Wednesday.

"We just have to learn to play through bumps and bruises,'' Wingate said. "We can't use that as an excuse because we've been playing with injuries all season.''

Fan Friendly: LSU's student section rode UT's Bradshaw heavily after he fired up an airball with 9A 1/2 minutes remaining. Bradshaw hit an NBA-range 3-pointer his next trip down the floor and shot a lengthy look into the crowd to draw more boos.

With timing running out in the game, the fans chanted "We want Bradshaw!'' and Pearl responded by putting him back in the game.

"I just wanted to have some fun with their fans,'' Pearl said. "It was a great atmosphere.''