Stackhouse Talks Final Play Of Regulation Versus SMU

The Vanderbilt men's basketball team lost a 15 point second-half lead Saturday and fell to SMU in overtime. Head coach Jerry Stackhouse explains the final play of regulation that would have won the game in regulation.

It was a tough night for the Vanderbilt Commodores Saturday as they battled back from down 10 points in the first half against SMU, built a 15 point second-half lead only to see the Mustangs storm back, force overtime and walk out of Memorial Gym with the 92-81 overtime win.

The Commodores had a chance with just :11  left in regulation and the ball following a timeout for a shot to win it, but the play, designed for Aaron Nesmith was defended by the Mustangs and disrupted the timing just enough that things didn't go as intended. The Commodores got a shot but missed and SMU dominated the five minute overtime session, 

Head coach Jerry Stackhouse spoke about the final second and the play designed for their last shot that never developed in his post-game press conference. 

"It was kind of a timing play and I didn't want to give them a chance to go earlier, but we probably should have gone earlier," said Stackhouse. "I told him(Nesmith) to delay a little bit, and I think the delay threw him off a little bit. and he wasn't able to get to the screen. It just threw everybody's timing off a little bit." 

This game had a bit of everything for the Commodores. They fell behind early, battled back, took and built a big lead, lost the lead, had a last-second chance to win, went to overtime and lost. In the end, this will be a learning experience for this team going forward. 

There is no doubt that this year's Commodores team is vastly improved from one year ago, but there is still work to be done and without Clevon Brown, who was showing signs of improvement prior to his injury, this team struggles now having a true inside presence. That lack of an inside game will likely be magnified during conference play, which starts Wednesday night at Auburn as they face the Tigers who were a Final Four team last season.  

Following the visit to Auburn, the Commodores return home Saturday to host Texas A&M in their conference home opener at Memorial Gym. Tipoff is set for 2:30 pm.