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No. 25 Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (22-6, 9-6 SEC) hosted the Georgia Bulldogs (19-9, 7-8 SEC) in a roaring Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 25. This first meeting between the two teams of the season held major implications for both squads with both the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament just around the corner – and Georgia did not let Vanderbilt off the hook easily. After an uneasy stretch with back-to-back losses to Missouri and Tennessee last week, the Commodores were able to stop the slide and ultimately find their groove to secure the 88-80 win over Georgia.
“I thought it was an incredible game,” Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington said postgame. “It’s the SEC. It’s the best league in the country, and it’s hard to get a win.”
This contest was a true team effort for the ‘Dores rather than a showcase of star power, where forwards Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke put up nearly as many combined points as the stellar backcourt duo Tyler Tanner and Miles.
Byington sent out Tanner, Okereke, Tyler Nickel, Jalen Washington and McGlockton to start on Vanderbilt’s Senior Night. Miles remained out of this first rotation — his second game back since an injury break — but was quick to sub in off the bench.
First half
Georgia won the opening tip but failed to take advantage of this first scoring opportunity when met by an intense Vanderbilt defense. Both teams were visibly still warming up in the first minute of play: Vanderbilt turned the ball over in its first possession, and Georgia’s fast break led to a missed dunk by Somto Cyril. Per usual, Tanner got the scoring going from behind the arc. After missed first and second chance opportunities for the Bulldogs, Okereke then hit another tripe from Tanner’s same right corner spot for a 6-0 score. Starting guard Blue Cain put up Georgia’s first points of the night with a shifty layup, shortly before Duke Miles subbed in for McGlockton at the 17:36 mark.
Georgia continued to visibly struggle against the Commodores’ pressure, with Cain travelling and getting blocked by Washington who then finished at the rim. However, Cain continued to run the offense and made a second-chance 3-pointer to take the game to 6-5. Vanderbilt started exerting double team pressure on the Bulldogs, blocking a dunk by Cyril but drawing the first foul of the game; this led into the first media timeout at 14:45 where Vanderbilt led 10-5.
Coming out of the timeout, Miles emerged with especially agile, fast defense and close-outs – which he translated into a scoring run on the other side of the court. Miles finished with a euro-step layup before pulling up nearly from the logo and making the triple. This was followed by a perfect assist to McGlockton for an easy layup, creating a ten point lead for the ‘Dores. Kanon Catchings dunked and then took Tanner one-on-one for another two-points, taking the score to 20-14 Vanderbilt at the 11:28 media timeout.
Vanderbilt continued to achieve successful closeouts and rotations, keeping Georgia’s shooters from 3-point opportunities deep into the first half. Tanner’s coast-to-coast layup and Okereke’s 3-pointer right after began a comfortable lead for the Commodores heading into a timeout at 9:16, where they led 27-14. From here, Vanderbilt built on their energy to widen the gap in efficiency. The ‘Dores began running down the shot clock, forcing Georgia into trouble with poor shots and turnovers.
With seven minutes left in the half, McGlockton started to take over. In back-to-back possessions, he had a no-look pass to convert a layup and a reverse layup second-chance opportunity. With nine points from McGlockton, Georgia was losing by 20 points with 6 minutes to go, trailing 17-37.
Coming out of the media timeout, though, the Bulldogs started to gradually close the gap and neutralize Vanderbilt’s run. Two layups, a steal and then a 3-pointer by Jeremiah Wilkinson cut the game to 37-26 at the timeout with 3:50 to go. Cyril then threw down a dunk for Georgia, cutting the contest to a 10-point game. After Georgia ran down the shot clock with a new energy on defense, the game was only 38-30 at the 2:30 mark.
Vanderbilt hastily tried to recreate a comfortable gap to end the first half. Miles went to work, with a quick layup followed by aggressive defense that caused Georgia to throw the ball out of bounds. However, the ‘Dores otherwise lacked offensive efficiency with multiple missed takes by Tanner.
At the half, Vanderbilt took the 42-35 lead with 48.4% effective field goal percentage, due to a balanced floor of clutch performances from Tanner, Miles and McGlockton.
Second half
Georgia came out with 2-points by Catchings to start off the second half, quickly followed by a 3-pointer to take the game down to a 4-point game. Washington made two layups and was fouled on the second, in an attempt to widen the lead which stood at 47-40 for the ‘Dores at the first media timeout with 18:04 to go.
Out of the break, Vanderbilt began running a full court press, which was unsuccessful on its first attempt that led to a made 3-pointer by Catchings. A discouraged Vanderbilt crowd was quickly back out of their seats, though, when Nickel knocked one down from deep. The ‘Dores led by five, 52-47, at the 15:13 media timeout.
Miles hit a triple to take the lead back to 10 points for the Commodores, followed right after by a made shot from deep for the Bulldogs, but then another made triple by Miles. At the 12-minute mark, the ‘Dores had sustained a 10-point lead before Wilkinson hit another three to deflate Vanderbilt’s momentum. The ‘Dores held a 62-55 lead at the media timeout with 11:28 to go.
The final 10 minutes of the game started with the Bulldogs capitalizing on interior play, where they made two consecutive baskets to cut the contest to 3 points. Cain then hit a three to tie the game 62-62 with 9:07 to go, after faking Tanner out of the way and patiently setting up from backcourt.
McGlockton blocked a shot attempt by Cain, which Tanner then converted for 2-points. At this point, Memorial Gym was at its loudest, with plenty of boos for Georgia’s offense. Vanderbilt began taking advantage of inside scoring to secure more reliable shot opportunities, led by McGlockton and Okereke. The Commodores led 68-66 at the 7:26 media timeout, with the crowd on the edge of their seats.
After two made free throws by Tanner, Catchings hit another 3-pointer for Georgia. Fearing the ‘Dawgs could take their first lead of the game, Nickel then blocked Georgia’s shooter before getting fouled on a made layup – sending fans into an eruption. A made free throw for Nickel brought the lead up 73-69 for Vanderbilt. McGlockton put up another quiet but clutch layup, which was then offset by a 3-pointer for Wilkinson, who had 24 points for the Bulldogs at the four-minute mark. Another 2-pointer from McGlockton, now leading the ‘Dores with 15 points, took the contest to 77-75 with 3:37 to go.
After McGlockton made both free throw attempts, Georgia hustled to try and finally secure a lead – putting up a forced and unsuccessful deep attempt. The Bulldogs began to look pressured and exhausted on both ends of the floor. Okereke was fouled on a made floater, allowing Vanderbilt to take an 82-75 lead and begin regaining some sense of control. McGlockton then blocked a layup by Somto Cyril, sending him to the line where he made both layups for Georgia. Miles then secured two more points for the ‘Dores, taking the lead to 84-77 with just 30 seconds remaining. Tanner then made all of his free throws after being fouled twice, to lock in a comfortable 88-77 lead. Huge roars from the crowd reinforced that Vanderbilt had successfully escaped a very close-call, with a final score of 88-80.
The Commodores will look to continue this momentum as they hit the road this Saturday, Feb. 28th, as they face the Kentucky Wildcats.
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