National Basketball Association
Tennessee 67, Vanderbilt 61
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 12, 2015
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Tony Henderson, # Antinio Petty, # Glenn Tuitt
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
Tennessee 67, Vanderbilt 61: Josh Richardson scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half as the 10th-seeded Volunteers rallied from behind to advance to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.
Robert Hubbs III had nine of his 16 points in the final six-plus minutes for Tennessee (16-15), which faces No. 2 seed Arkansas on Friday. Devon Baulkman added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Volunteers, who ended the game on a 20-2 run.
Damian Jones had 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead the way for the Commodores (19-13), who missed their final seven 3-point tries and finished 6-of-26 from long range. Wade Baldwin IV had 16 points and Riley LaChance chipped in 11 for Vanderbilt.
After Tennessee put together nine straight points midway through the first half to take a two-point lead, Vanderbilt responded with 11 in a row and eventually carried a 38-32 lead into the break. Baldwin had a personal 6-0 run to begin the second half, giving the Commodores a 12-point advantage and forcing the Volunteers to call a timeout.
It remained a 12-point gap after Jones scored with just over seven minutes to go before Tennessee used three straight 3-pointers to fuel a game-tying 12-0 burst, and Hubbs hit another triple with 2:10 left to give the Volunteers a 64-61 lead. Consecutive turnovers by the Commodores and two free throws by Kevin Punter made it 66-61 and Vanderbilt had two more misses from beyond the arc and another turnover in the final minute.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The contest marked the first between the in-state rivals in the SEC tournament since 1987. ... Tennessee turned the ball over just six times, compared to 12 for Vanderbilt. ... The Volunteers defeated Arkansas by five points at home and lost to the Razorbacks by five points on the road in their two meetings this season.
Top Game Performances
Tennessee |
|
Vanderbilt |
Josh Richardson 22 |
Scoring |
Damian Jones 20 |
Kevin Punter 4 |
Assists |
Wade Baldwin IV 6 |
Derek Reese 7 |
Rebounds |
Damian Jones 15 |
Josh Richardson 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Damian Jones 4 |
Josh Richardson 3 |
Steals |
Wade Baldwin IV 2 |
N/A |
Blocks |
Damian Jones 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Tennessee
|
67 |
40.7 |
7-25 |
12-15 |
11 |
29 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
Vanderbilt
|
61 |
44.9 |
6-26 |
11-17 |
15 |
32 |
4 |
2 |
12 |