AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas let a second-half lead slip away, losing to Vanderbilt 86-78 in Southeastern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Longhorns went on a 10-0 run in the second half to take a 54-44 lead with 14:04 remaining, but the Commodores chipped away and then went on a 10-0 run to seize control. Jason Edwards put his team on his back, scoring eight points in the flurry. He buried a 3-pointer with 4:58 left to stretch Vanderbilt’s lead to 71-65.
Vanderbilt outscored the Longhorns 51-39 in the second half with Edwards’ 15 points in 13 minutes followed by AJ Hoggard with 14 points in the frame. Edwards ended with 17 points and Hoggard scored all his points in the second half. Jaylen Carey led the way with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Tyler Nickel hit four 3-pointers to end with 17 points for the Commodores.
Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry said the difference in the game was simple.
“They had a physicality that we weren’t able to match,” Terry said. “Carey did a great job on the glass; he was a man in the pain. Give them credit, they made big shots and got to the foul line when they needed to.”
Freshman Tre Johnson led the Longhorns in scoring with 15 points but it took him 14 shots to get there. Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick each scored 12 while Julian Larry and Jordan Pope had 11 each. Devon Pryor came off the bench to score nine points and Jayson Kent had eight. Pope and Kaluma had seven rebounds each as the Longhorns were outrebounded 44-40. Vanderbilt scored 25 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds while Texas had 11 such points off 13 offensive rebounds.
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Vanderbilt had 38 points in the paint to Texas’ 28 and Shedrick had four blocked shots.
Texas had a 12-0 run late in the first half to take a 39-35 lead into halftime. Coincidentally, Vanderbilt also had a 12-0 in the frame to take a 20-12 lead with 10:47 remaining.
It’s the third loss in four SEC games for the Longhorns and the conference schedule doesn’t get easier.
“Every night, it’s a good opponent,” Terry said. “You have to have a short memory and move to the next game. Whether you’re at home or on the road, you gotta come ready to play.”
Texas (15-9, 4-7 SEC) hosts No. 3 Alabama at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Vanderbilt (17-6, 5-5) hosts top-ranked Auburn at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
