Chaz Lanier played just 17 career games at Food City Center. He made a lasting impression in his last one.

The Tennessee senior guard brought the Vols back to life in their regular season finale against South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, turning a slugfest into a 75-65 triumph over a pesky Gamecocks team that has given even the biggest of the SEC Goliaths fits this season on Senior Day.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Fourth-ranked Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 SEC), which will be no lower than a 4-seed in the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week, bounced back from a two-point road loss at Ole Miss and will head into the postseason with some recaptured momentum.

Lanier dazzled in his final act in Knoxville. He followed up 1-of-4 shooting in the first half with one of those scoring stretches that made a 25 minute tug-of-war a memory after he broke away on a fastbreak and scored to put the Vols up 10 with 5:32 left.

Lanier finished with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, and three 3-pointers. Cade Phillips scored 15, Igor Milicic Jr. totaled 13 and Jordan Gainey had 10.

South Carolina (12-19, 2-16) out-rebounded Tennessee, 32-31 but the Vols dominated in points in the paint, finishing with a 42-24 edge.

Igor Milicic Jr., whose last shot attempt missed off of the rim as time expired in a two-point loss at Ole Miss four nights before, opened Saturday with a 3-pointer. He hit another a few minutes later, pacing Tennessee to a 13-7 lead more than six minutes into the first half.

Fittingly on Senior Day, it was Milicic and Jahmai Mashack had all of the Vols points early. Cade Phillips added two more with a dunk out of a timeout and Darlinstone Dubar scored by way of a goal tending call to stretch Tennessee’s lead to 17-9.

Arden Conyers answered with a three to trim that lead to seven, but Phillips clapped back with another dunk to send the Vols into the under 12 timeout up 19-12.

Zakai Zeigler hadn’t scored by that point, but he was had dished the ball on seven of Tennessee’s first eight field goals with still more than 11 minutes left in the half.

South Carolina went three-plus minutes without a basket, meanwhile Jordan Gainey put the Vols up 10 with a jumper to lead 23-13 with inside of nine minutes left.

Zachary Davis ended the Gamecocks’ drought with a layup, then Jamarii Thomas laced a 3-pointer from the corner to get within five at 23-18. Chaz Lanier came back down and knocked down a three in response, but Tennessee fell into a three minute scoring drought and South Carolina built on its run to pull within one at 26-25 with 4:23 to go.

Thomas put the Gamecocks in front for the firs time with another three with 2:09 left, but Dubar pulled the Vols back in front on the other end. It went back-and-forth from there over the last minute of the half.

A Conyers 3-pointer gave South Carolina the lead back with 20 seconds left, but Tennessee evened the score at halftime, 34-34 after an and-1 from Phillips.

The slugfest spilled over into the second and so did the foul trouble. In the first two minutes, Zeigler and Felix Okpara were whistled for their third fouls and went to the bench.

Milicic scored on an and-1 and Lanier hit a three out of a timeout to give the Vols the lead back after the Gamecocks went up. Tennessee started to create some separation with a score from Gainey off of an offensive rebound and a Lanier layup and foul swelled its lead to 48-42 with 12:57 left.

Conyers kept South Carolina hanging around with his third 3-pointer to get back within three. Collin Murray-Boyles did the same after a Phillips score, but Lanier provided a jolt with back-to-back threes to push the Vols’ lead to 56-47.

Tennessee went up by 12 on a Phillips’ dunk that he was fouled on on the way up, but the second half was still the Chaz Lanier Show. After the Gamecocks got their deficit under 10, he scored on a deflating fastbreak layup to put the Vols back up 10.

Lanier had already planted the dagger, but he drove it in with a step-back jumper with 1:30 remaining to lead by 12, and South Carolina didn’t have the firepower or the time to recover.

Tennessee locked up at least the 4-seed in the SEC Tournament in Nashville with its win over South Carolina, but could move up by Saturday night.

Alabama, which currently holds the 3-seed behind 1-seed Auburn and 2-seed Florida, play the Tigers for the second time at 2:30 p.m. ET. A loss would allow the Vols to jump the Crimson Tide for the 3-seed by way of tiebreaker.

Regardless, Tennessee will get the double-bye and will play Friday at Bridgestone Arena. The Vols made a quick exit at the tournament a year ago, falling to Mississippi State before going on an Elite Eight run in the NCAA Tournament.