Commodores Fight but Cats Refuse to Fall
LEXINGTON, KY – The Vanderbilt Commodores went punch-for-punch with the No. 13 team in the nation Wednesday night, but a resilient Kentucky squad held on for a 71-62 victory at Rupp Arena.
Saben Lee, coming into the game eighth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring, led all players with 21 points. The junior drove to the basket to give the Commodores a 52-51 lead with 9:00 to play. After leading for over 17 minutes of the game and by seven points at the half, Vanderbilt never led again.
Kentucky took the lead for good with 8:33 to play on a pair of free throws by Immanuel Quickley. He came into the game sixth in the nation at 91 percent from the free-throw line, and made all five at the stripe in this game.
Vanderbilt made just one of its last 11 shots from the field and was 0-for-8 in the last 5:40 of the contest. That basket was a Dylan Disu three to cut the Kentucky lead to 60-58. Disu finished with his third double-double effort of 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with five blocks.
Vanderbilt (8-12, 0-7) set the Southeastern Conference record with 25 consecutive regular-season conference losses, breaking the mark set by Sewanee (1938-40). But the Commodores did not play like a team on its heels, taking the aggression to the home-standing Wildcats. Kentucky improved to 16-4 (6-1) and won for the eighth time in nine games.
Kentucky’s leading scorer, junior Nick Richards, was held scoreless in the first half and then finished with a double-double. He scored 15 points after the intermission and collected 11 rebounds for the game.
Guard Tyrese Maxey dropped in 17 points and helped put the game away with 2:25 left. Vanderbilt moved the basketball through the possession and got an open look from Dylan Disu in the lower corner for three on the previous possession, but he missed and the Cats got the rebound and Maxey’s layup extended the lead to 67-60.
Back-to-back dunks by Richards pushed the lead to 11 before a pair of free throws by Ejike Obinna produced the final score.
GAME FLOW
Vanderbilt was solid from the field in the first half, shooting 51.8 percent. Junior guard Maxwell Evans drained a three with eight seconds left to push the Vanderbilt lead to 35-28.
The lead reached its largest in the early stages of the second half at 40-30. Obinna pulled down a Kentucky miss and Vanderbilt pushed the ball in transition, with Scotty Pippen missing a three from the right corner. But after a save under the basket by Evans, Lee then missed on the left wing from three that would have given the visitors a 13-point lead.
Then the Wildcats scored in transition and flipped the momentum, going on a 6-0 run, including when Richards laid it up and Nate Sestina bottomed a three.
Weathering the storm, Vandy still led 45-39 with 14:30 remaining and Disu fed a bounce pass from the right wing to Obinna in the lane. The big man was blocked from behind by Maxey, grabbed the carom and scored through contact with Sestina. The basket was waved off and ruled a jump ball, with the arrow to Kentucky.
Nevertheless, Pippen made a right hook through a double team to extend the lead to 47-39. Richards answered with a dunk and ignited a 7-0 run for the hosts, to make it 47-46. Hagans was called for a charge, and Braelee Albert stroked a three to make it 50-46 for the Dores.
Quickley converted a three-point play at 10:19 and Richards rebounded a Pippen miss in the lane. When Quickley’s jumper fell off, E.J. Montgomery worked the offensive glass from the right side and put in the turnaround for a 51-50 edge for Kentucky. Lee answered immediately with an explosive drive to the basket to flip the score again.
Quickley was hacked on a baseline up and under with 8:33 to go and made the free tosses for the 53-52 margin. Kentucky never relinquished the lead again.
Albert back rimmed a three but Pippen got the offensive board, but was called for an extra step on a drive to the left baseline with 7:55 left.
Hagans fed an alley-oop dunk to Richards to make it 55-52, and when the Commodores tried to return the favor, Pippen sailed one over the defense and Lee missed the layup. Hagans missed the front end of a free throw opportunity and Vanderbilt raced down the court to try and tie the game.
Lee drove, kicked the pass to the right corner to Jordan Wright, and the freshman found Evans on the right wing for a bank-in three. The shot didn’t count, as Wright’s back foot was on the sideline at 7:21 for a turnover.
The closest the Commodores came again was on Disu’s bucket at 60-58.
BY THE NUMBERS
Vanderbilt shot 39 percent from the field (21-54), but after making 11 of their first 20 shots, the Commodores were just 10 of their final 34. The Commodores were 9-26 from three (35 percent) and 11-16 from the line (69 percent).
Kentucky improved throughout the second half to finish at 46 percent (26-56) from the field with only 3-10 from three, but 16-19 (84 percent at the line).
The teams were tied on the glass at halftime with 15 rebounds each, but Kentucky took advantage of the offensive glass and held the final rebounding margin, 37-29. Vanderbilt had 12 turnovers and eight points off turnovers and Kentucky lost it 11 times but scored nine points off Vanderbilt mistakes.
The Commodores got four points off the bench and Kentucky seven, and the Cats led 30-22 in points in the paint.
The ultimate difference in a tight game was Vanderbilt scoring on just 27-of-62 possessions, while Kentucky converted at 33-of-66, dropping points on 50 percent of its chances.
SCORING
Vanderbilt – Lee 21, Disu 13, Pippen 12, Evans 10, Albert 3, Obinna 2, Moyer 1.
Kentucky – Maxey 17, Richards 15, Hagans 12, Quickley 11, Montgomery 9, Sestina 5, Juzang 2.
SERIES
Kentucky leads the overall series, 145-47. Vanderbilt is 2-41 at Rupp Arena and 20-93 in Lexington overall. The teams will meet in Nashville, Feb. 11. This was Kentucky’s seventh straight win over Vanderbilt, with the last Commodores victory on Feb. 27, 2016.
NEXT UP
Vanderbilt hosts Florida (12-8, 4-3) on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. Kentucky travels to No. 17 Auburn (18-2, 5-2), Saturday at 4 p.m. CST on ESPN.
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