Commodores can't get over the hump, fall at Missouri
Vanderbilt mounted a second-half comeback, but Missouri always had an answer, as the Tigers beat VU, 77-67, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday night.
Guards Aaron Nesmith (19 points) and Saben Lee (15) in scoring. The Commodores (9-12, 0-8 SEC) have lost nine in a row.
Missouri, led by Jeremiah Tillmon (19) and Jordan Geist (15) led the Tigers in scoring.
It was Geist who got Missouri its biggest lead of the night, and Geist who had answers late when Vandy finally found its shot.
Geist converted a three-point play after Matthew Moyer fouled him on a fast break with 13:43 left. Missouri's lead was 46-31--its biggest of the night--and the Tigers were on the verge of taking away any suspense at that point.
Instead, Vandy finally started shooting.
Forward Matt Ryan hit a 3 with 12:45 remaining. It was just Vandy's second field goal, and fourth, fifth and sixth points of the half, at that point.
But it was the start of five-straight 3-pointers in a short spurt for Vandy. The last in the string came from Nesmith with 8:31 left, bringing Vandy to within 55-52 with 8:31 left.
But that was the closest Vanderbilt got. After Nesmith hit three free throws with 4:01 left, Tiger guard Torrence Watson hit a 3 to beat the shot clock with 3:30 left.
After Max Evans answered with a spin in the lane, Geist drilled a 3 with 2:36 to play, the Missouri lead now 68-59.
A Ryan 3 with 2:28 left cut it to six. Again, Geist answered with a shot of his own, this one, a floater in the lane with 1:35 left. Missouri nearly lost the ball twice during that trip, but instead, a Tillmon offensive rebound was big in helping UM milk the clock.
Missouri hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 41 seconds to ice it.
Vandy travels to Arkansas (13-8, 4-4 SEC), which pulled off a road upset of LSU on Saturday, this coming Tuesday.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
When the shots were falling, the Commodores looked like a competent basketball team. A 20 for 26 shooting at the line was a welcome sight.
Lee had seven assists, a nice sign for a player who is looking more like he's capable of being an answer at point guard. (That said, he also had four turnovers.)
WHAT WENT WRONG
Extra possessions, which allowed the Tigers to shoot 13 more shots, were big in keeping Vandy from a road win.
The Commodores couldn't get stops late, and a major culprit was its inability to keep Missouri off the offensive glass, and off the glass, period. Missouri, not particularly known for its rebounding, out-did Vandy in that category by a 37-26 count.
And when Vandy wasn't hitting shots, it wasn't getting second chances. The Commodores had two offensive rebounds on 26 misses.
VU had some careless turnovers and had 12 for the game, to the Tigers' nine.
And when the shots weren't falling, the offense was ugly. VU had an 11-minute span between the first and second halves in which it had 10 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Aaron Nesmith gets the nod in a close call over Lee. Nesmith led VU in scoring (19), tied for the lead with Simi Shittu in rebounds (four). Yes, he fouled out, and yes, he had no assists to two turnovers, but he was the best scoring threat Vandy had in the second half when it made its run.
NOTES
The Commodores missed their first 12 3s; 22:32 elapsed before Yanni Wetzell hit Vandy's first of the evening, extending the string of games with a made 3 to 1,052.
Vandy started Lee, Wetzell, Evans, Shittu and Nesmith.
Shittu played 15 minutes in the first half, and just three in the second, with Clevon Brown getting the bulk of playing time in the post.