Memphis Tigers basketball team defeat Vanderbilt Commodores

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The #23 Memphis Tigers Men’s Basketball team defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores 77-75 in the battle of former NBA All-Stars turned NCAA coaches.

David Jones led all players with 28 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Tigers to their fifth straight victory.

Memphis improves to 10-2 while Vanderbilt drops to 4-8 on the year.

The first half was surprisingly competitive as Vanderbilt held the lead for the majority of the half.

Kansas State transfer Nae’Qwan Tomlin checked into the game and immediately made an impact as he knocked down a three to get the crowd going.

“To be able to get in and hit my first shot, it was big. I felt comfortable,” said Tomlin.

Memphis played from behind in the half as Vanderbilt guard Ezra Manjon scored 13 for the Commodores at the half.

Head coach Penny Hardaway stated, “We have a game plan for when guys go under screens. We didn’t do that at all in the first half. That’s on Malcolm (Dandridge) and Nick (Jourdain). Nae’Qwan doesn’t know yet what to do in that situation.”

Jahvon Quinerly led Memphis with 10 as Vanderbilt walked into halftime with a 36-35 lead.

Memphis stormed out of the half with a 9-0 run to take a 44-36 lead, but the Commodores made a run of their own to take the lead.

Vanderbilt saw themselves with a 62-54 lead with under 8 minutes remaining.

However, the Tigers stormed back with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to have a 66-62 lead.

“What we did in the second half is we sped them up,” said Penny Hardaway.

From there, the game would go back and forth as Memphis kept the lead and Vanderbilt would force the Tigers to play the free-throw game.

With five seconds remaining, Vanderbilt’s Tasos Kamateros went 1-for-2 at the free throw, but the second free-throw went out of bounds in favor of the Commodores.

With 3.5 seconds left, Ezra Manjon missed the game-winning three-point attempt as Memphis held on to the win.

“After the game, I told them let’s be proud of 10-2,” said Penny Hardaway. “That’s phenomenal, but we gotta look on how to be better.”

The #23 Tigers have a weeklong break before they prepare for their final non-conference matchup versus Austin Peay on December 30.

The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

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