COLUMBUS, Ohio - Coach Bruce Pearl figured his Volunteers would have to score a lot of points to beat the 49ers.

Boy, did they.

With Chris Lofton leading the way with 25 points, Tennessee (23-10) set off some offensive fireworks to beat Long Beach State (24-8) in a first- round shootout.

The point total matched the most in a first-round game, set by Nevada-Las Vegas in 1977 against San Francisco.

Both teams entered averaging 80 points, putting them among the top 11 in the nation, so it wasn't a shocker that baskets came in bunches.

It was the most points ever scored in the tournament by Tennessee and its most in 18 seasons in any game. The Volunteers topped 100 on a dunk by Duke Crews with more than 6 1/2 minutes left.

Kejuan Johnson scored 24 points, Aaron Nixon scored 23 and Kevin Houston scored 17 for the 12th-seeded 49ers, regular-season and tournament champs of the Big West who were making their first NCAA appearance in a dozen years.