Jaylen Carey recorded career highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds to help Vanderbilt notch an 86-78 victory over Texas on Saturday afternoon in Southeastern Conference play at Nashville.
Jason Edwards scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Tyler Nickel also scored 17 as Vanderbilt (17-6, 5-5 SEC) improved to 12-1 at home. A.J. Hoggard added 14 points and six assists for the Commodores, who overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to end a two-game losing streak.
Tre Johnson scored 15 points and Arthur Kaluma had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Longhorns (15-9, 4-7), who lost for the third time in four games. Kadin Shedrick scored 12 points before fouling out while Julian Larry and Jordan Pope scored 11 points apiece for Texas.
Vanderbilt shot 42.3 percent from the field, including 9 of 27 from 3-point range. Nickel made four treys for the Commodores.
The Longhorns made 41.7 percent of their shots and hit 9 of 25 from behind the arc.
Texas led 65-61 before Edwards exploded to score eight points during a 10-0 run to give Vanderbilt a 71-65 lead with 4:58 left in the game. Edwards converted an acrobatic three-point play, made a short go-ahead jumper and knocked down a trey during the spurt.
More than two minutes later, Hoggard drove for a layup to give the Commodores a 75-67 advantage.
Any chance of a Texas comeback was thwarted when MJ Collins dunked to give Vanderbilt an 80-71 lead with 25.4 seconds left.
The game was tied at 44 before the Longhorns scored 10 straight points for a 54-44 lead with 14:04 left. Shedrick and Devon Pryor each scored four points during the run and Larry ended it with a jumper.
Vanderbilt recovered with a 9-2 run with Nickel culminating it with a trey to bring the Commodores within 56-53 with 11:08 left.
Vanderbilt continued its push and tied the score at 61 on Hoggard’s two free throws with 8:39 remaining.
Kaluma scored 10 first-half points as Texas led 39-35 at the break. Nickel scored 11 in the half for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt used a 12-0 run to take a 20-8 lead with 10:47 left in the first half. Collins hit a 3-pointer to cap the burst.
Johnson later scored five straight points to start a half-closing 15-2 burst to give the Longhorns the four-point halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
