LAFAYETTE, La. -- Tennessee's Chris Lofton was hotter than a cayenne pepper in Monday night's game on the Bayou.

Lofton scored a season-high 31 points to lead Tennessee to a 77-67 men's basketball victory over Louisiana-Lafayette at the Cajundome.

The Vols improved to 5-2, avoiding the first three-game losing streak of the Bruce Pearl era, while the Ragin' Cajuns dropped to 1-4.

"Chris was back to his old self,'' Pearl said. "Just in time, eh?''

UT led by as many as 17 points in the second half when JaJuan Smith scored two of his 11 points on a steal and layup that made it 51-34 with 17:02 remaining.

But Louisiana-Lafayette stormed back, showing the form that had enabled the Sun Belt Conference school to win 51 of its past 58 games at home.

The Ragin' Cajuns scored on 10 consecutive possessions after Smith's layup. When Ross Mouton scored two of his team-high 22 points from the free-throw line at the 10:53 mark, the Vols' lead was down to 61-55.

"We just couldn't get any stops,'' said UT point guard Jordan Howell, who made his first career start. "That put pressure on our offense.''

Lofton was the only Vol up to the challenge down the stretch -- making the only UT field goal over the final 10 minutes. Lofton made three 2-pointers and a 3-pointer as the Vols held on.

"I just had to come out focused after letting the team down in New York,'' said Lofton, who made 12 of 17 attempts from the floor, 7-of-11 beyond the arc. "It had gotten really loud in there, and the crowd was into it.''

The Cajundome was deafening when Louisiana-Lafayette cut its deficit to two on Adam James' free throw. With 4:24 left, the Vols' lead had shrunk to 67-65.

It was time for more Lofton.

Lofton, who worked the entire offseason on his ability to drive, finally saw the time he invested pay off.

Lofton faked like he was going to drive before stepping back and draining a 3-pointer over Rhett Hebert to give the Vols a 70-65 lead.

UT's defense kicked in, forcing the Ragin' Cajuns into three bad shots before forcing a five-second violation on an inbounds pass.

Wayne Chism, who led UT with nine rebounds, split a pair of free throws to make it 71-65.

Mouton answered with two free throws for the Ragin' Cajuns to make it 71-67, but then Dane Bradshaw recorded one of his six assists, finding Lofton cutting to the basket for a layup.

After another defensive stop, Bradshaw hit both ends of a 1-and-1 free-throw situation to make it 75-67 with 1:05 left and put the game away.

"We had just enough experience on the floor at the end to pull this one out,'' Pearl said. "We did a lot of growing up tonight.''

The Vols held a 38-30 halftime lead on the strength of six 3-pointers and 15 forced turnovers.

UT's next game is at 7 p.m. Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena against Murray State.

Walking Wounded: Pearl said JaJuan Smith was battling the flu, or he would have played more than 27 minutes.

Bradshaw is coming off a shoulder injury he suffered in a fall at Madison Square Garden against Butler.

"Dane couldn't even lift his arm when we left New York, and he hadn't practiced,'' Pearl said. "We were keeping that quiet.''

Unsung Hero: Freshman Josh Tabb didn't score, but his play on Ragin' Cajuns shooting star David Dees was invaluable.

Dees scored 18 points, 4.8 under his average, but hit just 6 of 17 shots -- 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds, which was four below that average.

"I just tried to play him physical,'' Tabb said. "The coaches said they were looking for a defensive spark.''

Howell Starts: Pearl made his first lineup change of the year when he inserted Howell at point guard in place of freshman Ramar Smith, who started the first six games.

"Jordan once again had a positive assist/turnover ratio,'' Pearl said. "Ramar's still not playing as well as he can.''

Technical Tony: Sophomore Tony Passley got his second technical foul of the season with 53.3 seconds left in the first half and UT up 37-26. Passley got called for exchanging words with a Ragin' Cajun after picking up his second foul. Pearl did not play Passley in the second half.

Passley's first technical came in the Vols' home opener against Middle Tennessee State.