Vanderbilt fought through foul trouble and overcame a 10-point deficit, but fell 69-66 at Arkansas in Fayetteville’s Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday night.

Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford scored 28 points, handing Vanderbilt (9-13, 0-9 Southeastern Conference) its 10th-straight defeat.

Vandy was led in scoring by forward Joe Toye (18 points), forward Simi Shittu (12) and guard Saben Lee (11).

With the Razorbacks trailing by two, Gafford, double-teamed in the post, kicked the ball out to guard Keyshawn Embery-Simpson, who drained a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play.

Next, Lee pushed off on the other end and was whistled for his fifth foul with eight seconds left. Mason Jones hit the ensuing free throws, and when VU forward Matt Ryan missed a 3 with two seconds left, Arkansas secured the rebound and ran the clock out.

The Commodores trailed by 10 midway through the second half, and appeared to be on the ropes with Lee and guard Aaron Nesmith each playing with four fouls, and Shittu and Clevon Brown, with three each.

But Vandy got hot from the field, with Lee and Toye each draining a pair of 3s in the next few minutes. One from Toye put Vandy up 60-58 with 4:53 left, and the senior’s last, coming off a kick-out from Shittu, put VU up with 43 seconds left.

However, those were Vandy’s last points.

Vanderbilt played well and led 28-18 with 3:58 to play in the half after Nesmith’s jumper gave VU its biggest lead. But guard Isaiah Joe hit four 3-pointers in the final 2:52, helping UA cut the lead to 35-34 at half.

The Commodores return home Saturday to face Alabama at Memorial Gym at 7:30.

The effort was there from start to finish, as reflected in the rebound battle, which Vandy won, 34-29. The Commodores uncharacteristically hit the offensive boards hard, collecting 11 of their 27 misses from the field.

Shittu, who led the ‘Dores with eight rebounds, had his best game in at least a couple of weeks.

Post defense was good for most of the first half. Brown’s presence seemed to really help (evidenced by his plus-8 rating) as he played a foul-free first half and forward Yanni Wetzell also had his moments.

The Commodores also controlled the tempo, and didn’t allow the Razorbacks a lot of run-outs or quick shots excepting a quick flurry to end the half.

One of the key plays of the game came 43 seconds into the second half, when Lee picked up his fourth foul. The Commodores simply didn’t run offense nearly as well with Max Evans running the point. Lee is a threat to get to the foul line frequently and with the sophomore either on the bench or having to play carefully, Vandy handed out just four assists to seven turnovers in the second period.

Gafford was a handful. Even when not scoring from the field, he was 8 of 9 from the line in the first period.

Guarding him in the second half was especially tough as fouls accumulated in the post. Shittu picked up his third for with 6:03 left in the first half, and Brown picked up three quick ones in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half.

Nesmith picked up his fourth with 11:34 left also.

Foul shooting—again!—was an issue. The ‘Dores hit 61.9 percent of their 21 tries, while Arkansas, a 64.9-percent shooting team coming in, hit 75 percent of its 20.

Joe Toye’s 18 points led the team, and without him, the Commodores probably don’t mount a late-game comeback. He gave the team a much-needed shot in the arm of confidence on the road when it needed it. Toye added four rebounds and a steal (though two turnovers) in 28 minutes and posted a plus-3 rating.

Vanderbilt started Lee, Nesmith, Ryan, Brown and Shittu. It’s the first time the Commodores have used that combination.

This was Brown’s third start of the season, and his first since Dec. 1 (N.C. State).

Nesmith hit a 3 just 1:50 into the game, extending VU’s streak of games with a made 3-pointer to 1,053.