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SEC Showdown: No. 21 Vanderbilt Visits 14th-Ranked Tennessee
Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Jermaine Beal hit four three-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points as 21st-ranked Vanderbilt topped 14th-ranked Tennessee, 85-76, in an SEC showdown from Thompson-Boling Arena.
A.J. Ogilvy added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Commodores (16-3, 5-0 SEC), who have ripped off 10 straight wins since last losing, on December 11 to Western Kentucky.
Brad Tinsley, John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor each had 10 points to help fuel a 50.9-percent shooting effort for Vandy. Andre Walker checked in with nine points, seven boards and five assists.
J.P. Prince put in 22 points and Scotty Hopson 14 for the Volunteers (15-4, 3-2), who suffered their second consecutive defeat and first of the season at home (10-1). UT lost to Georgia on Saturday to snap a seven-game win streak.
Bobby Maze had 12 points and seven assists, while Wayne Chism led all players with 16 rebounds and scored eight points.
Vanderbilt surged from a six-point deficit early in the second half and opened up a 14-point lead with five minutes to play.
After taking their first lead of the second half, 56-55, on an Ogilvy tip-in just past the midway point, Tinsley and Jenkins knocked down threes during the surge, with Jenkins’ making it a 64-58 game.
Beal then capped a 10-0 burst from the visitors with a pair of three-pointers to stretch the margin to 74-60.
The Volunteers inched back to within nine on a Chism layup and Hopson drilled a three moments later for a 76-68 difference with just under three minutes to go.
But layups from Ogilvy and Walker helped the Commodores keep the lead at 10 with the clock winding under a minute left to preserve the win.
A tightly contested first half saw the largest margin held by Vanderbilt, 17-10, seven minutes in courtesy of an eight-point burst.
Tennessee responded by scoring the next eight points, and the Volunteers got some separation at the close of the half when Prince drained a three and Steven Pearl followed with a nice reverse scoop for a 35-31 lead.
With the game tied at 39 three minutes into the second half, Prince knocked down a three and followed that up with an emphatic slam that warranted a technical for hanging on the rim.
Tennessee continued to hold down a slim advantage from there until a Beal triple sparked an 8-2 stretch for the Commodores that yielded their first lead of the second half.
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