NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped a 76-75 decision to Vanderbilt in front of a sold-out Memorial Gymnasium crowd Saturday evening.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, playing in his hometown, scored a team-high 17 points for sixth-ranked Tennessee (16-2, 3-2 SEC), which had multiple chances to tie the game in the closing seconds after trailing by 16 with under 11 minutes to go and by 10 with fewer than four minutes left.
Vanderbilt (15-3, 3-2 SEC) scored the first five points, but the Volunteers quickly shrugged off the slow start. Tennessee made five consecutive 3-pointers, three of which were during an 11-1 run in 2:50 that gave it a game-high eight-point edge, 19-11, with 12:21 on the first-half clock. It also did not allow a made field goal for 5:03, forcing six straight misses until the 10:20 mark.
The Commodores, though, answered right back and soon used an 11-0 run in 4:08 to go up by seven, 35-28, with 2:21 to play. They held Tennessee scoreless for a span of 5:03, during which the visitors missed all five of their field goals and both their free throws, plus committed three turnovers.
The Volunteers cut the margin to two with 26 ticks left in the half, but Vanderbilt ended the frame with a four-point play three seconds before the horn to go up by six, 41-35, at the intermission. Tennessee shot 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from deep in the opening half and allowed just a 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) mark at the other end, but it went 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) at the line compared to Vanderbilt’s 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) tally and conceded a 10-5 margin in second-chance points.
Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., scored the first five points of the second frame to make it 41-40, but Vanderbilt responded with back-to-back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers in just 1:37 to take a 13-point lead, 53-40, with 16:39 to go. The Volunteers twice got the deficit down to nine, but Vanderbilt pushed it up to a game-best 16, 68-52, with 10:57 remaining.
Tennessee thrice sliced the deficit to eight, but did not make it down to a two-possession game until the clock showed 1:39, when a layup by Miličić trimmed the margin to six. Tennessee stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Lanier hit a layup of his own to bring the score to 76-72 just 10 seconds later.
After a defensive stop, senior guard Zakai Zeigler connected on a pair of free throws with 45.1 ticks to go, cutting the margin to two, 76-74. Tennessee forced another miss and got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead, but Vanderbilt graduate guard Chris Mañon blocked a shot and the Commodores got the rebound.
Vanderbilt freshman guard Tyler Tanner went to the line with four seconds to go, but missed the front end, Lanier got the board and drew a foul with 2.8 to go. He hit the first free throw, but missed the second and the Commodores earned the one-point win despite not scoring in the last 3:48 and giving up a 9-0 run in the final 2:46.
Four just the fourth time in the last 20 seasons (2005-25), Tennessee had four players score 16-plus points. In addition to the 17 from Lanier, who went 4-of-6 from 3-point range, the Volunteers got exactly 16 apiece from Miličić, Zeigler and junior forward Felix Okpara.
Miličić shot 5-of-8 from the floor, 2-of-4 beyond the arc and 4-of-4 at the line, plus co-led Tennessee with five rebounds. Zeigler, who made all six of his free throws, dished out a game-best 10 assists to logged his 12th collegiate double-double. Okpara, who had five alley-oop dunks, went a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor—he is the third Volunteer (fourth occurrence) in the last 17 years with seven-plus makes and no misses—to tie his career best in both points and field goals, plus paced all players with a co-season-best four blocks.
Vanderbilt junior guard Jason Edwards scored a game-high 18 points, finishing 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-6 beyond the arc and 3-of-3 at the line. Sophomore guard Jaylen Carey notched 14 points on 5-of-6 field-goal shooting to go along with a game-leading 10 rebounds.
Junior guard Tyler Nickel had 13 points for the Commodores, posting a 4-of-7 ledger from deep. Graduate guard A.J. Hoggard added 11 points and a team-high six assists, the latter mark tied for the most by a Tennessee opponent this season.
Vanderbilt registered a 20-8 cushion in bench points, along with an 18-9 tally in second-chance points behind a 12-8 edge on the offensive glass. That helped the home team overcome the Volunteers’ excellent shooting line of 48.0 percent (24-of-50) overall, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) on 3-pointers and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) at the stripe.
The Volunteers resume play Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they host No. 15/18 Mississippi State at Food City Center, live on ESPN2.
