Vols’ bid for NCAA tourney takes hit
Tennessee dug a 15-point hole early against Vanderbilt Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols couldn’t dig out of it, either.
Tennessee rallied to within one point twice in the second half, despite scoring just 18 points in the first half and making six field goals, but the visiting Commodores kept finding answers, holding off the Vols for an 67-56 win.
Senior guard Robert Hubbs scored 16 points to lead Tennessee (15-13, 7-8 SEC), sophomore forward Admiral Schofield scored 11 and freshman forward Grant Williams added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Vanderbilt (15-13, 8-7) had four players in double-figures. Jeff Roberson led the way with 15 points, Luke Kornet and Matthew Fisher-Davis scored 13 each and Nolan Cressler had 11.
Tennessee twice had the Vanderbilt lead down to one point in the second half.
Hubbs made it 42-41 with a bucket at the 7:10 mark, but Vandy answered with two Jeff Roberson free throws. Williams got it down to one, at 44-43, with 6:01 left, but the Commodores responded with two Luke Kornet free throws.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Cressler and Joe Toye built the Vanderbilt lead back to seven with 4:18 to play. Vandy had the lead back to nine with 2:44 left after Toye and Kornet scored on consecutive possessions.
Tennessee fans, upset with the game’s officials, began throwing objects on the floor late in the game, before a public address warning that more objects thrown on the floor would result in a technical against the Vols.
Williams connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 16:55 left in the game. The shot served both as Tennessee’s first made 3-point attempt and Williams’ first points of the night.
Tennessee started the game 1-for-11 from the field, while Vandy hit eight of its first 17 shots, building an 18-4 lead in the opening nine minutes. The lead was 25-10 at the 6:54 mark of the first half.
The Vols hung around despite the icecold start, trailing 28-18 at the break after making just six field goals in the first half. Tennessee shot 23.1 percent from the floor and went 0-for-7 form the 3point line in the opening 20 minutes.
Schofield scored eight of the 18 firsthalf points for Tennessee and Hubbs added four.
Tennessee is at South Carolina (20-8, 10-5) on Saturday (TV: SEC Network, 1 p.m.). The Gamecocks, third in the SEC standings behind No. 11 Kentucky and No. 13 Florida, have lost five of their last six, including back-to-back games against Vanderbilt and the Gators.