Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (18-9, 6-8 SEC) welcomed the No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels (19-8, 8-6 SEC) into Memorial Gymnasium for a pivotal clash on Feb. 22. The Rebels were fresh off of a humbling 81-71 loss to rival Mississippi State while the Commodores had lost five of their last six. When all was said and done, Vanderbilt claimed a 77-72 win over the Rebels.
Vanderbilt was unstoppable for most of the first half, building up a cushy lead that peaked at 19 points. Ole Miss missed its first nine 3-pointers and were non-competitive for the first 15 minutes. Then, as if a switch was flipped, the Rebels’ duo of Sean Pedulla and Malik Dia caught fire, sparking a dominant 16-5 run to end the half. At halftime, Vanderbilt led 41-33.
Vanderbilt was sluggish coming out of the break, allowing Ole Miss to claw all the way to a one-point lead. Dia continually asserted his will both inside and outside the paint until the Commodores responded with 10 minutes left. Nothing separated the teams for six minutes until Chris Mañon went on a 5-0 run by himself to give Vanderbilt control of the game. The game got interesting late but the Commodores held on.
First half
Vanderbilt won the opening tip and didn’t look back, nailing 3-pointers on both of its opening two possessions, sending Memorial into a frenzy. Dia (a former Commodore) responded with a quick bucket that was met by a resounding chorus of ‘boos’ in Memorial. Then, Manon seized the momentum back with a steal and a bucket that sparked a 10-4 Vanderbilt run. At the first media timeout, the Commodores held a commanding 16-6 lead.
Dia halted Vanderbilt’s run with an and-one, which he followed up by staring down Memorial’s student section. Manon countered with a monstrous block as the scoring ground to a halt. At the second media timeout, Ole Miss was 0-7 on 3-pointers and 4-14 from the field. Vanderbilt, who was shooting a more respectable 4-9 from deep and 7-16 from the field, held a 13 point lead.
Shortly after checking into the game, MJ Collins Jr. and Tyler Tanner both made tough layups. The Rebels responded with a series of lay-ups and free throws, which kept Vanderbilt’s lead at 12 points heading into the third media timeout. Tanner then sent Memorial into pandemonium with a ferocious dunk, which Collins followed up with a 3-pointer in transition. Ole Miss called timeout to halt the momentum, as Vanderbilt’s lead had suddenly ballooned up to 19 points.
The Rebels came out firing after the timeout, as star guard Sean Pedulla and Dia nailed tough shots on back-to-back possessions. Shortly after Dia silenced his critics in Memorial with a before a step-back 3-pointer, Pedulla took over the game, notching a 3-pointer, a steal and two assists in under a minute. Suddenly, the Rebels were down by only six points. Jason Edwards nailed a tough 3-pointer to finally stem the tide, giving Vanderbilt an eight point lead heading into halftime.
Second half
In what has become a concerningly consistent trend, Vanderbilt started slowly in the second half. Pedulla nailed two 3-pointers in the first four minutes while Dia threw down a thunderous slam, giving Ole Miss a one-point advantage. Nickel finally got Vanderbilt on the board in the second half with a deep triple, giving the Commodores a two-point lead at the first media timeout of the half.
Both teams finally got into an offensive rhythm, with Edwards and Jaylen Carey exchanging lay-ups and free throws with Jaylen Murray and Dia. The Rebels’ Dre Davis then nailed two consecutive 3-pointers while Edwards and Carey responded with four free throws and a layup, respectively.
Sum this frantic sequence up? Vanderbilt clung a one-point lead at the second media timeout.
McGlockton showed off his footwork on a nifty dunk but Manon blew a chance to extend Vanderbilt’s lead when he missed both free throws after being fouled. Dia then hit a difficult step-back triple, officially giving himself a 20-point performance in his revenge game. Ole Miss led by two points entering the third media timeout.
The Commodores’ inability to hit free throws down the stretch continually cost them, as Tanner and McGlockton both missed the front end of one-and-ones. Edwards ended this stretch by hitting two free throws before Manon took the top off of Memorial with a steal, a 3-pointer and a deafening slam on back-to-back possessions. Vanderbilt led 69-64 with four minutes to play.
Following an Ole Miss timeout, Tanner extended the Commodores’ lead with a layup. Dia responded with a layup but Manon countered with two straight free throws. Ole Miss began pressing in a last-ditch attempt to spark a comeback and forced AJ Hoggard and Tanner turnovers. The game got interesting in the last minute but Vanderbilt held on for a 77-72 win. Manon finished with an impressive stat line, tallying 16 points, 4 steals and 3 blocks in his best game repping the Black and Gold.
Vanderbilt will be back in action this Wednesday when it hits the road to take on the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies.
