No 24 Tennessee gets by mistake-prone Vanderbilt

Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points, including two late free throws in a close game, and Uros Plavsic had two key offensive rebounds and putbacks down the stretch, leading No. 24 Tennessee to a 68-60 win over host Vanderbilt in an SEC basketball game in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday night.

The Volunteers (12-5, 3-3 SEC) left Memorial Gymnasium with their ninth straight win over the Commodores (10-7, 2-3) in the head-to-head series. Vanderbilt had 21 turnovers in the game.

Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. led all scorers with 18 points, with 15 from Jordan Wright.

Neither team led by more than four points until Plavsic spun to the basket, got his own rebound on a miss and put in the follow for a 50-45 Volunteers lead with 7:41 to play. That was part of a 7-2 run late in the game that turned the tide in the direction of Tennessee.

Shoves were exchanged with 6:07 to play after a hard foul on Tennessee, resulting in technical fouls on both teams. But the Volunteers didn’t falter, even after Vanderbilt came back from an eight-point deficit to tie the score.

Vanderbilt cut a seven-point lead to four, 55-51, but Tennessee’s Kennedy Chandler drove the lane and scooped in a layup while being fouled with 4:14 left. And when Plavsic gave the Vols a 60-52 lead, with 3:41 to play with a hook shot, things looked bleak for the home team.

But Trey Thomas hit a corner trey with 2:21 left, cutting Tennessee’s lead to 60-57.

Then Vanderbilt forced a turnover with 1:45 left, and Pippen Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:22 left. But Plavsic put in the rebound of a missed shot, and Zakai Zeigler and Vescovi combined for six throws with less than a minute to go to seal Tennessee’s win.

Tennessee led 33-32 at halftime. The Commodores dropped to 6-6 on their home floor this season.

–Field Level Media