NASHVILLE — Chris Lofton doesn’t like forcing shots, but he hates losing even more, so the Tennessee shooting star didn’t hold back.

Lofton scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Vols to a 78-71 win over Fordham on Monday night in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-off at Gaylord Entertainment Center before a crowd of 3,186.

Lofton connected on 9-of-16 shots from the field — 5-of-10 behind the 3-point arc — and the Vols moved one step closer to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

No. 25 UT (2-0) plays in the South bracket title game at 9 tonight at Gaylord against North Carolina Wilmington. The Carolina school defeated Belmont 88-83.

With a win tonight, UT would open the NIT semifinals against the winner of the Midwest bracket at 7 or 9 p.m. on Nov. 22. Butler beat Notre Dame on Monday night and plays Indiana in the Midwest final tonight.

"We let the one guy who we tried not to let beat us, beat us,’’ said Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg, who was a starting guard on North Carolina State’s 1983 national championship team. "He did a great job of penetrating and he handled the ball well at the end of the game. He made some tough 3-point shots, stepping back with hands in his face.’’

Lofton conceded he made a conscientious effort to force some shots.

"I was just trying to assert myself in the offense a little bit more,’’ said Lofton, who also hit 7-of-8 free-throw attempts. "I forced a couple of shots tonight to get some easy buckets and try to draw fouls. I’m just trying to do whatever the team needs me to do. The main focus is trying to get my team to win.’’

The Vols held a 40-28 halftime lead and were up by as many as 14 points at 65-51 with 7:58 left in the game.

But Fordham (1-1) kept battling back in this ragged contest, closing to 75-71 with 1:27 left when Marcus Stout scored in transition after the Rams beat the Vols’ pressure.

Lofton took control at the other end, dribbling through a double team and drawing a foul. Once at the line, Lofton sank both attempts to put the Vols up 77-71 with a minute left.

Fordham misfired on a trey at the other end, and JaJuan Smith split a pair of free throws with 24.6 seconds remaining for the final margin.

The Vols failed to score a field goal over the final six minutes, but hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch.

Pearl had to convince Lofton to force more shots after the junior preseason All-American attempted just six shots and scored six points in an 83-52 win over Middle Tennessee State on Friday.

"It was great to welcome Chris back tonight,’’ Pearl said. "I’m glad he was coachable enough to hunt his shot, find ways to score, and get himself to the foul line.

"That was a good win for us. They (Fordham) didn’t panic, they got themselves to the foul line and shot a better percentage in the second half.’’

Duke Crews was the only other Vol to score in double figures with 11. Brenton Butler led the Rams with 20 points.

Both coaches bemoaned their teams’ turnovers, Fordham with 29 and the Vols with 26.

UT out-rebounded the Rams 33-28, and Pearl praised his young centers for their play against preseason Atlantic 10 center Bryant Dunston, who was held to eight points and four rebounds after running into foul trouble.

"Duke and Wayne (Chism) played tremendous defense, and played smart, they beat him to spots,’’ Pearl said. "We extended defensively and made the entry pass difficult. You can see he only attempted three shots and made all three. Imagine if he attempted 10 shots.

"We got 17 points and 10 rebounds out of our center position.’’

The Vols’ point guard play remained spotty, as evidenced by the turnovers, but Pearl said freshman starter Ramar Smith is improving.

"I think Ramar made progress,’’ he said. "He filled up a stat shot, he scored, he knocked down the 3.’’

Ramar Smith had seven points, five rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.

But the line of the night belonged to Lofton, who in addition to his scoring had four steals.

"He (Lofton) gets my vote for All-American all day long,’’ Whittenburg said. "I hope I don’t have nightmares tonight; Lofton, Lofton, Lofton.’’

Flyin’ Ryan: Ryan Childress continued to impress, scoring nine points, pulling down four rebounds and making two steals in his 16 minutes of play.

"Ryan played great in the first half; second half made a big bucket and showed some poise,’’ Pearl said. "Ryan is improved, and underutilized. Ryan can shoot it; we have got to do some things to get him some shots.’’

Free Throw Woes: The Vols failed to meet Pearl’s demand to hit in the mid-to-high 70th percentile at the free-throw line, making 19-of-27 for 70-percent.

Senior Dane Bradshaw made 1-of-5 attempts.

Pearl Still Out: Freshman Steven Pearl has yet to see action. Coach Bruce Pearl is considering redshirting his son.