Nashville, TENN.--As the clock wound down it felt like Vanderbilt had the ball in the hands of the guy who needed to have it. That paid off as Ezra Manjon threw in a circus shot to knock off Texas A&M 74-73.
For the first time all season it felt as if Memorial Gymnasium had some sort of magic inside of it.
Manjon's teammates didn't waste any time swarming the senior guard on the floor after his late-game heroics. A team that's experienced a season full of heartbreak and disappointment felt some joy on Tuesday night. A lot of it, in fact.
"It was the best." Manjon said "This team has been through a lot this season and we just continue to fight so being able to spend that moment with my guys, it meant everything to me."
Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse relished in that moment, as well.
"It was a lot of fun for these guys, man.
"Obviously they've been battling and battling and battling," Stackhouse added. "It's good for us to have these type of moments."
Ven-Allen Lubin got Vanderbilt started with its first 11 points of the evening, Ezra Manjon gave the Commodores a 13-12 lead the next possession after a beautiful spin move.
Vanderbilt held a lead for 9:19 in the half but went into the tunnel trailing 31-30 despite turning it over just twice in the first 20 minutes.
The Commodores picked the lead back up less than 20 seconds into the half on a jumper by Manjon.
The rest of the way it felt as if any lead was at a premium.
As Texas A&M went on a 7-0 run, Vanderbilt had an answer. As soon as you thought Vanderbilt may end up with some breathing room, the Aggies showed why they have a winning record in the league.
No A&M punch felt bigger than that of three back-to-back possessions with a make from beyond the arc that forced the Commodores into a timeout.
Vanderbilt quickly tied this one at 69 after a Tyrin Lawrence free throw and Evan Taylor make from the midrange.
Manjon put Vanderbilt ahead 72-69 with a huge make in the corner. That lead lasted until Texas A&M guard Tyrece Radford put the Aggies up 73-72 with two timely free throws.
Fortunately for Vanderbilt, that wouldn't be the end of things.
That would come as the Commodores' bench emptied and Memorial Gymnasium erupted.
Three quick takes:
Ezra Manjon's age and toughness just keep showing up
How could Vanderbilt not trust Manjon in that type of situation? He's proven that those types of moments aren't too big for him.
It wasn't on Tuesday night, either.
"He's made plays like that before," Stackhouse said. "He makes the right play. I think that's all you want for your point guard to do is make the right play."
The veteran guard was the leader on Tuesday, like he has been all along.
"He wants to compete man." Stackhouse said. "He wants to be out there, be out there and lead his guys."
"God's got us, man," Stackhouse added. "I think there's nobody with faith any stronger than Ezra so having him as a leader of your team is a positive for all of us."
Manjon's leadership never showed up more than when he went down with an ankle injury and fought to go back in.
"'Coach I've got to come in, I've gotta keep it loose,'" Stackhouse says of Manjon's message to him.
Vanderbilt's heart and soul finished Tuesday night with 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field, two of those accounted for Vanderbilt's last two baskets.
Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams some real improvement in Manjon from this time last season.
"I thought he was excellent," Williams said. "I think he's so much better, much more aggressive, much more confident than he was last year."
Ven-Allen Lubin played the best game of his Vanderbilt career on Tuesday
Lubin quietly scored in double figures in three of Vanderbilt's last four games, on Tuesday night the sophomore forward made a loud introduction to Memorial Gymnasium, though.
The Notre Dame transfer got into double digits at the 14:01 mark of the first half with a tremendous baseline cut and dunk on a pass from Lawrence. Lubin was in double figures before another Vanderbilt player had scored.
"It just fired me up," Lubin said of the start. "I know that usually in the past I always start off slow so I just know that whenever I had those first 11 points it was just to get me fired up and it was to get the rest of the guys fired up, too."
The 6-foot-8 sophomore finished the night with a career-high 25 points as well as five rebounds while shooting 9-for-13 from the field.
Lubin also drew the occasional double team and could've put up loftier numbers had he not picked up his second foul with 3:37 to go in the first half.
Doing that all against a Texas A&M frontcourt that isn't full of scrubs makes a pretty dang good case that this was Lubin's best game. Lubin agrees with that sentiment.
"Yeah, that's correct." Lubin said when asked if this was the best game he's had at Vanderbilt.
Everything that Lubin has showed lately indicates he is a piece that Vanderbilt needs to make an effort to keep long term.
That's Vanderbilt's best win of the season
It's hard to even find a case for a night better than this in 2023-24.
From the level of the opponent to the way this one ended and the joy inside Memorial Gymnasium, this was Vanderbilt's best night of the season all around. Undoubtedly.
Every time Texas A&M made a run, Vanderbilt had an answer. Every time it felt like the best offensive rebounding team in the country would take over on the glass, Vanderbilt made it look uniquely human.
When it looked like this one would end with the older, battle tested team on top it didn't. Vanderbilt pulled some magic out of its hat and beat a top 100 team in the country for the first time this season as 8.5-point underdogs.
It's been far too long since the old gym felt like that.
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