This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.
No. 18 Vanderbilt basketball held off pesky Ole Miss 71-68 on Jan. 31 at Memorial Gym, a game that was moved from Oxford, Mississippi because of the winter storm.
Ole Miss missed two 3-point field goal attempts at the end.
It was Vanderbilt’s third straight win. Tyler Tanner led the Commodores (19-3, 6-3 SEC) with 24 points. Tanner, however, missed a finger-roll with 17.6 seconds left that would have given the Commodores a five-point cushion.
Vanderbilt opened the season on a 16-game winning streak before losing three straight SEC games.
Malik Dia and AJ Storr each scored 16 points for Ole Miss (11-10, 3-5).
Ole Miss managed to trim Vanderbilt’s lead to 35-32 with 16:14 remaining, but Tyler Tanner made it difficult for the Rebels to get much closer.
Tanner scored eight points over a two-minute stretch. The former Brentwood Academy standout hit is second 3-pointer of the game with 14:46 left to put the Commodores back up 46-35.
Tanner is the game’s leading scorer with 18 points.
The Commodores have not shot the ball well from the free throw line.
On a nice layup early in the second half, Tyler Harris was fouled and went to the line for an and-1. Harris missed the free throw, making Vanderbilt 3-of-7 (43%) for the game.
Vanderbilt finished the first half strong with Tyler Nickel breaking away for a slam dunk.
It put the Commodores up 31-23 on the Rebels and gave Nickel five points. Mike James, who came off the bench, made a nice feed to Nickel for the assist.
At the final media timeout (3:53) in the first half, Vanderbilt leads Ole Miss 25-16. The Commodores have controlled the game since the opening tipoff.
Tyler Tanner leads Vanderbilt with eight points, and Mike James came off the bench to add six.
Ole Miss does not have a player with more than five points.
Vanderbilt has struggled rebounding against SEC opponents and entered the game ranked 12th in the conference (37.0 average). In this game, however, the Commodores are hanging with Ole Miss.
With 6:11 left to play in the first half the Rebels only have one more rebound (12) than the Commodores (11.).
Tyler Harris stole the ball at the Ole Miss 3-point line (top of the key) and sprinted downcourt for an uncontested two-handed slam dunk.
It gave Vanderbilt its biggest lead at 25-12.
Tyler Tanner took an assist from Tyler Nickel and nailed a bucket from NBA 3-point range between the right wing and corner.
Tanner’s basketball put Vanderbilt up 7-4.
Injured Frankie Collins was on the court making long shots, including one from beyond halfcourt.
Collings has been out suffering a meniscus tear since December.
Kamryn Jackson covers high school sports for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Anderson Independent Mail, Greenville News, and the USA TODAY Network. Please email her at KEJackson@gannett.com, and please follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter.
