Tennessee and Virginia lacked the theatrics that Baylor and St. John's had in the game before them late Thursday night. The Vols probably preferred it that way.

Eleventh-ranked Tennessee, in game 2 of the Baha Mar Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, had its start time against the Cavaliers pushed back nearly an hour because of a double overtime finish in game 1. If that contributed to a sluggish offensive start for the Vols, Chaz Lanier overshadowed it.

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The senior guard again headlined Tennessee (5-0) on the offensive end, igniting a second half spark that the Vols rode to a 64-42 victory over Virginia to move on to the Baha Mar Championship Game.

Lanier scored 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field and 6-of-12 from three-poinr range. Igor Milicic Jr. finished in double scoring figures and just shy of another double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds as both players contributed to Tennessee's second half romp.

The Virginia offense, meanwhile wasn't quite able to get in a rhythm outside of a few runs. That was due in large part to the Vols' suffocating defense. Jahmai Mashack held the Cavaliers' leading scorer Isaac McKneely well below his season average with just 4 points.

Virginia (3-1) shot 29% from the field and turned the ball over 18 times while Tennessee won the rebounding battle, 42-33.

In a clash between two teams that pride themselves with defense, it took more than two minutes for either one to score.

Jahmai Mashack opened the scoring for Tennessee, but Virginia answered to take the lead on Elijah Saunders 3-pointer with just under 17 minutes left in the first half.

Igor Milicic Jr. hit a jumper to put the Vols back in front and Darlinstone Dubar, who made his first appearance since the exhibition game against Indiana last month, scored on a put-back dunk just seconds after coming in off the bench.

Tennessee didn't score again for nearly three minutes, which allowed Virginia to lead for a stretch. Chaz Lanier ended the drought with a jumper and opened the way for an 8-0 run that included back-to-back threes from Lanier and Milicic to lead 14-8 near the midway point of the half.

There were times where it seemed like the Vols were teetering on the brink of pulling away before halftime. Their defense held Virginia to just 21% shooting from the field late in the half and a Dubar layup stretched Tennessee's lead to eight with 2:51 on the clock.

But the Vols had their own offensive woes down the stretch, and the Cavaliers took advantage, rattling off a 7-0 run that was capped by an Andrew Rhode three at the buzzer to trim Tennessee's lead to 22-21 at the intermission.

The second half began much like the first. Tennessee kept the ball on its end of the floor, aided by Virginia fouls and a few would-be rebounds that ended up out of bounds. A defensive stand from the Vols on the other end set up the first points of the half for either team on a Lanier three.

Lanier provided an offensive spark again, lacing another 3-pointer and suddenly Tennessee was up 28-21 with around 16 minutes left.

Isaac McKneely, who was coming off of a quiet first half, quelled the Vols' run with a 3-pointer late in the shot-clock, but Zakai Zeigler answered with a jumper that rattled around before going in off of the glass to up Tennessee's lead to 30-24.

Lanier made his fourth basket of the half in less than five minutes with a corner three that put him over 1,000 career points. It was followed by a Felix Okpara jumper--his first points--and the Vols had a double-digit advantage at 35-24.

Virginia didn't go away, though. Tennessee's 11-point lead dwindled down to five off a Taine Muarray three before Milicic provided a much-needed answer with his second-three that helped open another run that put the Vols back up 10 with 9:14 remaining.

Virginia pulled within eight with less than eight minutes left, but that was as close as the Cavaliers got. Tennessee pulled away, turning a slugfest into a rout behind a commanding 18-3 run over six minutes that also included a 14-0 scoring edge to go up 60-38 with under four minutes left.

Tennessee will face another test in the Baha Mar title game on Friday.

The Vols will play No. 12 Baylor in their first meeting against a ranked team in their first six games. The Bears needed double overtime to beat No. 22 St. John's in the game 1, winning on Jeremy Roach's go-ahead 3-pointer at the buzzer to win 99-98.

Tip-off between Tennessee and Baylor is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.

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