An old problem arose again for Vanderbilt in its 78-77 overtime loss to
Mississippi State, one the Commodores thought they had put behind them.
Once
again, the team that lost late leads in eventual losses to Xavier,
Louisville and Indiana State earlier in the season couldn't close out a
game, a problem that actually goes back to last year.
The
Commodores saw an 11-point halftime lead disappear in a blink when
Mississippi State opened the second period on an 18-2 run, then not
once, not twice, but three times failed to make plays at the end of the
game that could have turned a heartbreaking defeat into a
momentum-building victory.
Center Festus Ezeli hurried a jumper
with the score tied at the end of regulation, guard Brad Tinsley tried
to force a shot over bigger defenders in the lane with four seconds left
in overtime, and guard John Jenkins rushed a jumper at the final
buzzer.
All three missed.
"I didn't know how much time I
had when I got the ball, so I kind of just guessed," said Jenkins, who
caught Ezeli's pass in midair at the top of the key and shot in the same
motion. "I probably could have landed and shot it, but in the heat of
the moment I just shot the ball."
Ezeli, too, said he misjudged the time left on his attempt.
"Now
that I think about it, I kind of didn't know how long one second was
when I caught the ball, so I just caught it and threw it up there," he
said. "I should have taken a better shot than that."
Frankly, though, it should never have come down to the desperation plays.
The
game was lost when the Commodores went from leading 39-28 at the
halftime break to trailing 63-53 with fewer than seven minutes
remaining.
"Our defensive effort in the second half, especially
at the start of the second half, was brutal, so we got what we
deserved," coach Kevin Stallings said. "We fell in love with the 3-point
shot. I'm not sure if we thought it was going to be easy or something."
It's not the kind of play one might expect from a veteran team.
"We shouldn't have to learn that lesson," Stallings said.
The
loss snapped Vanderbilt's winning streak at eight games and left the
Commodores 14-5 overall and 4-1 in the SEC going into a home game
against Tennessee.
The Commodores also have Middle Tennessee at home before going on the road to Arkansas and Florida.
NOTES, QUOTES
The
loss to Mississippi State was the Commodores' third of the season in
overtime and second in OT on their home floor. They had lost to Xavier
in Memorial Gym and at Louisville in non-conference play.
Overall, the Commodores have lost their last six overtime affairs.
Getting
to the free-throw line has not been an issue for Vandy for the season,
but it was in the loss to Mississippi State. The Commodores were only
5-of-9 from the stripe against the Bulldogs, who were 14-of-21.
"We took jump shots," coach Kevin Stallings said of the Commodores, "and they got to the line."
In the previous four conference games, the Commodores had gotten to the line nearly 25 times a game.
Junior
G John Jenkins continued his remarkable run of double-digit games with
21 points against Mississippi State, his 51st consecutive game with at
least 10 points. He was 5-of-7 on 3-point attempts, extending his streak
of games with at least three treys to nine. He reached the 20-point
mark for the 10th time this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're
a good team when we defend well, and we'll beat a lot of people when we
defend well." -- Coach Kevin Stallings, on the need for the Commodores
to play hard on defense the entire game.
