Vanderbilt hangs on to edge Arkansas in SEC Tourney
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt led for all but the game's first few minutes but had to hang on for dear life at the end, as the frazzled Commodores survived to beat Arkansas, 75-72, in the secondl round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday evening.
Rod Odom scored 20 points, Kyle Fuller had 19 off the bench, Kedren Johnson added 13 and Dai-Jon Parker had 11 for the Commodores (15-16), who advance to play Kentucky on Friday.
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Vanderbilt led Arkansas by as many as 14 in the first half, but the Razorbacks had a small run to cut it down to seven at one point. Still, the Commodores had a 38-30 lead at the break thanks to 13 points from Odom and 12 from Fuller.
That lead stretched back to 14 at the 9:48 mark, but VU started coming unglued through a variety of turnovers and missed foul shots. The Razorbacks got to within 70-68 with 50 seconds left, but Johnson hit a pair of foul shots.
After Arkansas' B.J. Young missed a pair of free throws and Vandy's Parker rebounded, he was fouled and hit one charity toss. Young hit a lay-up, but Johnson hit two more free throws with 5.5 seconds to ice the game.
VU was 12-for-28 on 3-pointers on Thursday.
Young's 16 led the Razorbacks (19-13), who may be headed to the NIT.