Vanderbilt Basketball Weathers Numerous Texas Runs To Bounce Back Into Win Column
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The Vanderbilt Commodores (17-6, 5-5) returned home on Saturday to face the Texas Longhorns (15-9, 4-7) after losing two tough SEC road games but forward Jaylen Carey played his best game in a Commodore uniform to ensure Vanderbilt got back into the win column.
Vanderbilt erased an eight-point second-half deficit to claim an 86-78 win and improve the Commodores home record to 12-1 this season. Carey set a career-high in points and rebounds, scoring 18 and securing 14 boards, including nine offensive rebounds to ensure the home fans went home happy.
"Just came with a different mindset, we had a close one in Florida a few days ago so just wanted to get back here at home and get a dub today," Carey said to SEC Network after the game on his effort.
Texas didn't make it easy on Vanderbilt, opening the game on a 7-0 run to set the tone and closing the first half on a 15-2 run to take a four-point lead into the halftime break. The Longhorns carried the momentum into the second half on a 15-6 run opening up a 10 point lead with just 14 minutes to play.
The Commodores never gave up, digging in defensively, holding the Longhorns just 17 points over the game's final 10 minutes, scoring 30 of their own to give the home fans an opportunity to exercise the school's new post game policy of celebrating on the floor.
Vanderbilt's leading scorer on the season Jason Edwards had a slow start, scoring just two points in the first half on just one made field goal. Edwards didn't get discouraged and kept looking for his shot and came out firing in the second half, scoring 15 points with 10 coming in the game's final six minutes.
The undersized Commodores have struggled on the glass in conference play but were determined to improve in that area. Vanderbilt outrebounded Texas 44-40 and utilized 17 offensive rebounds to score 25 second-chance points.
The Commodores return to action in Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday where they'll host No. 1 Auburn at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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Joe Gaither oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt web sites.
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