Here we are putting January to bed and the miracle in Thompson-Boling Arena continues.

Opponents arrive, opponents leave, none able to crack the code that has transformed Tennessee basketball.

Saturday evening, South Carolina took its best shot, which wasn't good enough.

"We played about as well as we could play for 37 minutes,'' said South Carolina coach Dave Odom, staring at the box score that fleshed out the details of an 81-65 Tennessee victory that wasn't nearly as comfortable as the score suggests.

While virtually every aspect of coach Bruce Pearl's debut season at UT has been surprising, there is actually very little mystery to it.

The formula for thwarting Tennessee is fairly straightforward - make the Vols play a half-court game and score from their offensive sets.

Ah, there's the rub.

You might rein them in for a while. But sooner or later, hell breaks loose.

And when little chunks of hell break loose, that's what keeps the miracle alive on nights like this when the Vols do things like shoot 6-of-23 (26 percent) from 3-point range.

"That's what we're good at,'' said UT senior Stanley Asumnu, "getting out in the open floor and making things happen, trying to get the fans into the game.

"So far, it's working out well. The fans look like they're happy.''

They were clearly happy when Asumnu threw down a dunk in transition late in the first half to cap a 10-0 run.

The spurt was a lifesaver. The Vols had stalled dead in their half-court offense.

In order, they: twice fired up desperate treys to avoid a shot-clock violation; twice saw Major Wingate miss opportunities under the bucket; twice had driving shots rejected.

During which, the Gamecocks forged a 22-15 lead.

Then Lofton shot an air ball.

But this air ball demonstrated UT's resourcefulness and turned out to be a game-changing event.

Here, let Odom tell it:

"We could have gotten it but we didn't. Dane Bradshaw, who never quits, went and got the thing and threw it back in to Lofton.

"We foul him shooting a three and he hits all three free throws.''

That's how the rally started. It ended with more resourcefulness.

Asumnu's dunk sequence began with UT rebounding a Carolina missed dunk and turning on the jets.

Lofton fired a perfect baseball pass to Asumnu and - boom!

The crowd exploded.

Even later in the first half, Lofton stole an inbounds pass off the press and scored. Easy points.

Like Asumnu said, it's what they're good at.

By the time the second half was seven seconds old, C.J. Watson had stripped a Gamecock and raced for a layup. Easy points.

It's what they're good at.

Following a spate of errant 3-pointers in the half-court game, Bradshaw rebounded a South Carolina miss and fired long to Andre Patterson for an easy basket.

It's what they're good at.

But despite it all, South Carolina wouldn't go away. Odom was right. The Gamecocks were playing well.

UT's 10-point lead had shrunk to 55-52, with South Carolina working for a shot to possibly draw even.

Instead another chunk of hell broke loose.

Asumnu came up with a steal and took off. He spotted Lofton on the run and got him the ball.

Lofton had made only one of seven 3-point tries on the night, but he pulled up and made that one.

Next trip, South Carolina missed, UT rebounded and Jordan Howell again pushed the attack.

Another long feed found Lofton ahead of the pack and Lofton made that trey, too.

It was 61-52, the crowd was crazy and South Carolina was gassed.

"I think it put a little dagger in 'em, hitting those threes,'' said Lofton.

"That's our first priority, to get a basket in transition.''

It may come off a turnover, although South Carolina's total of 11 was a season-low by a UT opponent.

"South Carolina was hard to turn over,'' said Pearl, "but when we did, we converted them into some scoring opportunities.''

It may come because the Vols run opponents into the ground and beat them back for quick shots, especially when fatigue sets in.

"Chris Lofton,'' Pearl said, "I can't believe he made those shots, given the pace of the game at that time.''

No matter how those transition baskets come, the fact is that they do come.

That's what they're good at. And every team Tennessee plays knows it.

Trying to stop it from happening, now that takes a miracle.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.