Vanderbilt Can’t Miss in 2nd Half, Defeats Vols 73-65
Feb 26, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Luke Kornet (3) dribbles the ball as Tennessee Vols forward Tariq Owens (11) chases at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Volunteers looked to sweep the Vanderbilt Commodores in the 2014-15 basketball season Thursday night in Knoxville, and they were well on their way to doing so at the end of the first half.
The Vols ended the first half on a 25-3 and led 30-19. They out-rebounded the Commodores 22-7 in the first half, and their defense had forced Vandy to miss several shots.
But the tables turned in the second half.
Vanderbilt missed only 3 shots in the second half, hitting 13 straight field goals to end the game. They were 9-of-11 from behind the three point line, seemingly shooting at will in the second half.
The Vols went as cold as Vandy was hot, hitting only 35.5% of their shots in the 2nd half, including 5-of-15 from three.
Despite the Vols out-rebounding Vanderbilt 37-19 and grabbing 19 offensive boards compared to Vanderbilt’s 1 offensive rebound, the Vols fell to the Commodores 73-65.
Tennessee scored 24 second chance points, while Vanderbilt had 0 for the game. But Vandy hit 13 three-pointers and hit 52% of their threes compared to Tennessee’s 8 made threes at a 31% clip.
Luke Kornet came off the bench for the Commodores and scored 21 points, hitting 5 of his 6 three point attempts. He led all players in scoring. Wade Baldwin and Damian Jones each added 13 points for Vandy as well.
Josh Richardson led the Vols with 20 points, adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists as well. Derek Reese came off the bench and added a career-high 13 points along with 5 rebounds. Robert Hubbs also added 9 points in the start.
The Vols couldn’t stop Vanderbilt in the 2nd half, and a flurry of threes and emphatic dunks buried the Vols before they could realize what was happening.
Tennessee falls to 14-13 overall and 6-9 in the SEC. Even an NIT berth is looking unlikely at this point for the Vols, who have lost 8 of their last 11 games.