TENN

VANDY

Preview not available

Vandy stuns No. 6 Tennessee on Lawrence's buzzer-beating 3

AP
Feb 09, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Vanderbilt Commodores and coach Jerry Stackhouse finally experienced the thrill of a big upset inside the Southeastern Conference's oldest gym.

The Commodores had struggled for so long with crowds dwindling that the old Memorial Gym magic seemed gone.

Not Wednesday night.

Tyrin Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer as the Commodores snapped an 11-game skid against their in-state rival by upsetting sixth-ranked Tennessee 66-65 Wednesday night.

Stackhouse called Lawrence's shot the biggest of his tenure and maybe his favorite spanning both his own playing career in the NBA and now coaching career.

''We finally experienced it, the Memorial Magic we were looking for,'' Stackhouse said. ''Unbelievable game, unbelievable effort. Guys never quit. Didn't look great there for a minute, but we just kept battling.''

Students rushed the court and joined the Commodores in celebrating easily the program's biggest win in nearly 11 years. Then the Commodores (12-12, 5-6) celebrated by running along the courtside slapping high-fives.

Tennessee (19-5, 8-2) had every chance to finish off the win after Olivier Nkamhoua's 15-foot jumper with 50 seconds left put the Vols up 65-63 lead. Liam Robbins missed a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds for Vanderbilt, and Zakai Zeigler grabbed the rebound.

Vols freshman Julian Phillips had a chance to dunk in the final seconds but kept dribbling to force another Vanderbilt foul.

''I am not sure what was going through his head there,'' Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. ''I don't think he will ever make that mistake again.''

Vanderbilt had to foul five times to finally send Santiago Vescovi to the line with 8 seconds left.

He missed the first shot, and Lawrence grabbed the rebound. Stackhouse took a timeout with 4 seconds to go to set up the final play, and Ezra Manjon drove to the basket before passing out to Lawrence in the corner for the winning bucket.

''It felt great,'' said Lawrence, who Stackhouse benched for an ugly loss to No. 4 Alabama last week. ''It's the stuff we dream about as kids just in the back yard counting down `3, 2, 1.' Glad I was able to hit the game winner.''

Lawrence finished with a team-high 19 points. Robbins added 14 and nine rebounds, and Jordan Wright had 12.

Vescovi and Tyreke Key each had 14 to lead Tennessee. Olivier Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips added 10 apiece.

Tennessee led 34-32 at halftime setting up a thrilling finish in a game that featured 15 lead changes and nine ties.

BIG PICTURE

Tennessee was shooting well over 55% before hitting the kind of scoring drought that usually plagues the Vols in their losses. The Vols went 4:27 without a bucket as Vandy scored six straight to stay close. The nation's best 3-point defense, which had been holding opponents to 21.9% shooting outside the arc, also gave up a season-high 10 3s with Lawrence's game-winner the last.

Vanderbilt improved to 100-259 all-time against Top 25 opponents, and the Commodores improved to 2-3 this season. They now are 4-16 against ranked opponents under Stackhouse. ... Lawrence's game-winning shot was Vandy's first made bucket since the 3:44 mark.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The road is turning into a challenging issue for the Volunteers with a second straight loss away from home, and this won't help them stay in the Top 10.

DID IT COUNT?

Stackhouse tapped a play used by Dwane Casey when the Vandy coach worked with him in the NBA in Toronto. Stackhouse added some wrinkles with Manjon driving toward the basket where the Vols collapsed on him before whipping the pass down the baseline to Lawrence.

While everyone celebrated the shot, Stackhouse asked the scorekeeper if it counted. They didn't know.

''Then (official) Tony Greene came over and he said it was good. `We're gonna look at it, but it was good.' I can't contain myself. I hugged Tony Greene,'' Stackhouse said with a big smile.

UP NEXT

Tennessee hosts Missouri on Saturday night.

Vanderbilt visits Florida.

---

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

1st Half
TENN
Volunteers
34
VAN
Commodores
32

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Olivier Nkamhoua vs. Liam Robbins (Tyrin Lawrence gains possession)
19:32		Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot
19:30		Olivier Nkamhoua defensive rebound
19:13		Josiah-Jordan James misses three point jump shot
19:11		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
18:46		Ezra Manjon personal foul
18:35	+2	Julian Phillips makes two point jump shot	2-0
18:05	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point jump shot	2-2
17:44		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
17:42		Zakai Zeigler offensive rebound
17:38	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point dunk (Zakai Zeigler assists)	4-2
17:19		Liam Robbins misses two point jump shot
17:17		Josiah-Jordan James defensive rebound
17:10		Olivier Nkamhoua misses two point jump shot
17:08		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
16:52	+3	Liam Robbins makes three point jump shot (Quentin Millora-Brown assists)	4-5
16:34		Josiah-Jordan James misses two point jump shot
16:32		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
16:20	+3	Liam Robbins makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	4-8
16:07	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Zakai Zeigler assists)	7-8
15:40		Liam Robbins turnover (lost ball) (Olivier Nkamhoua steals)
15:40		TV timeout
15:29	+2	Tyreke Key makes two point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	9-8
15:29		Liam Robbins misses two point layup
15:27		Josiah-Jordan James defensive rebound
14:50		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
14:48		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
14:48		Tobe Awaka personal foul
14:31		Liam Robbins misses three point jump shot
14:29		Tyrin Lawrence offensive rebound
14:21	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup (Jordan Wright assists)	9-10
14:09	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point layup (Zakai Zeigler assists)	11-10
13:46		Liam Robbins misses two point layup
13:44		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
13:34	+3	Tyreke Key makes three point jump shot (Zakai Zeigler assists)	14-10
13:15	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Myles Stute assists)	14-13
13:05		Zakai Zeigler turnover (bad pass) (Jordan Wright steals)
12:49		Jump ball. Jordan Wright vs. Josiah-Jordan James (Volunteers gains possession)
12:49		Jordan Wright turnover (lost ball) (Josiah-Jordan James steals)
12:25	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point layup (Zakai Zeigler assists)	16-13
12:09		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
12:07		Tyreke Key defensive rebound
11:45		Quentin Millora-Brown blocks Tobe Awaka's two point jump shot
11:43		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
11:39	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point hook shot	18-13
11:18	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	18-16
11:03		Zakai Zeigler turnover (bad pass)
10:58	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point alley-oop dunk (Ezra Manjon assists)	18-18
10:35	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point alley-oop dunk (Zakai Zeigler assists)	20-18
10:17		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
10:15		Quentin Millora-Brown offensive rebound
10:14		Quentin Millora-Brown turnover (lost ball) (Tyreke Key steals)
10:14		TV timeout
9:53		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
9:51		Uros Plavsic offensive rebound
9:44	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot	23-18
9:28		Quentin Millora-Brown offensive foul (Uros Plavsic draws the foul)
9:28		Quentin Millora-Brown turnover (offensive foul)
9:16		Tyreke Key misses two point jump shot
9:14		Volunteers offensive rebound
9:11		Santiago Vescovi misses two point jump shot
9:09		Uros Plavsic offensive rebound
8:58		Liam Robbins personal foul (Uros Plavsic draws the foul)
8:48		Josiah-Jordan James misses three point jump shot
8:46		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
8:46		Uros Plavsic personal foul
8:17	+3	Liam Robbins makes three point stepback jump shot	23-21
8:00		Liam Robbins personal foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
7:50		Olivier Nkamhoua turnover (bad pass) (Quentin Millora-Brown steals)
7:28		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
7:26		Josiah-Jordan James defensive rebound
7:10		Josiah-Jordan James misses two point jump shot
7:08		Myles Stute defensive rebound
7:07		Uros Plavsic personal foul
7:07		TV timeout
6:48	+3	Colin Smith makes three point jump shot (Paul Lewis assists)	23-24
6:35	+2	Zakai Zeigler makes two point jump shot	25-24
6:07		Zakai Zeigler shooting foul (Paul Lewis draws the foul)
6:07	+1	Paul Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	25-25
6:07		Paul Lewis misses regular free throw 2 of 2
6:07		Olivier Nkamhoua defensive rebound
5:55		Santiago Vescovi turnover (bad pass) (Quentin Millora-Brown steals)
5:29		Quentin Millora-Brown misses two point hook shot
5:27		Myles Stute offensive rebound
5:24	+2	Myles Stute makes two point putback layup	25-27
5:16		Julian Phillips misses three point jump shot
5:14		Commodores defensive rebound
4:46		Zakai Zeigler shooting foul (Colin Smith draws the foul)
4:46		Colin Smith misses regular free throw 1 of 2
4:46	+1	Colin Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2	25-28
4:16		Santiago Vescovi misses two point layup
4:14		Ezra Manjon defensive rebound
4:09		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
4:07		Commodores offensive rebound
4:01		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
3:59		Julian Phillips defensive rebound
3:39		Ezra Manjon personal foul (Tyreke Key draws the foul)
3:39		TV timeout
3:31	+2	Jonas Aidoo makes two point jump shot (Julian Phillips assists)	27-28
2:56	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point jump shot	27-30
2:33	+3	Tyreke Key makes three point jump shot (Julian Phillips assists)	30-30
2:08		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
2:06		Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
2:02		Tyrin Lawrence shooting foul (Julian Phillips draws the foul)
2:02	+1	Julian Phillips makes regular free throw 1 of 2	31-30
2:02	+1	Julian Phillips makes regular free throw 2 of 2	32-30
1:38		Trey Thomas misses three point jump shot
1:36		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
1:08	+2	Tyreke Key makes two point jump shot	34-30
0:51		Santiago Vescovi personal foul (Trey Thomas draws the foul)
0:46	+2	Liam Robbins makes two point dunk	34-32
0:29		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
0:27		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
0:20		Commodores 30 second timeout
0:01		Jordan Wright turnover (bad pass) (Josiah-Jordan James steals)
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
TENN
Volunteers
31
VAN
Commodores
34

Time		Play	Score
19:32	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point jump shot	34-34
19:18		Julian Phillips turnover (traveling)
18:57		Liam Robbins offensive foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
18:57		Liam Robbins turnover (offensive foul)
18:42	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point layup	36-34
18:34	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup (Tyrin Lawrence assists)	36-36
18:34		Zakai Zeigler shooting foul (Ezra Manjon draws the foul)
18:34	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 1 of 1	36-37
18:14		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
18:12		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
18:05	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup	36-39
17:49	+2	Julian Phillips makes two point layup	38-39
17:24		Ezra Manjon misses three point jump shot
17:22		Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
17:11		Olivier Nkamhoua misses two point jump shot
17:09		Commodores defensive rebound
16:54		Ezra Manjon turnover (bad pass) (Josiah-Jordan James steals)
16:31	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point dunk (Josiah-Jordan James assists)	40-39
16:17		Tobe Awaka personal foul (Liam Robbins draws the foul)
16:12		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
16:10		Josiah-Jordan James defensive rebound
15:51		Tobe Awaka misses two point hook shot
15:49		Tyreke Key offensive rebound
15:45		Tyreke Key misses two point layup
15:43		Julian Phillips offensive rebound
15:39	+2	Julian Phillips makes two point layup	42-39
15:30		Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot
15:28		Josiah-Jordan James defensive rebound
15:17		Josiah-Jordan James misses three point jump shot
15:15		Julian Phillips offensive rebound
15:11		TV timeout
14:55	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point dunk (Jonas Aidoo assists)	44-39
14:35	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point jump shot	44-41
14:17	+2	Tyreke Key makes two point layup (Jonas Aidoo assists)	46-41
14:03	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	46-44
13:48	+2	Josiah-Jordan James makes two point jump shot	48-44
13:22	+3	Trey Thomas makes three point jump shot	48-47
12:55		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
12:53		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
12:44		Trey Thomas misses three point jump shot
12:42		Tyreke Key defensive rebound
12:26		Tyreke Key turnover (lost ball) (Quentin Millora-Brown steals)
12:14	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point layup	48-49
12:01		Josiah-Jordan James turnover (bad pass) (Tyrin Lawrence steals)
11:35	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup	48-51
11:15	+2	Tyreke Key makes two point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	50-51
10:54		Trey Thomas misses three point jump shot
10:52		Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
10:38		Josiah-Jordan James misses two point jump shot
10:36		Trey Thomas defensive rebound
10:07		Quentin Millora-Brown misses two point hook shot
10:05		Quentin Millora-Brown offensive rebound
10:04		Jonas Aidoo shooting foul (Quentin Millora-Brown draws the foul)
10:04		TV timeout
10:04		Quentin Millora-Brown misses regular free throw 1 of 2
10:04	+1	Quentin Millora-Brown makes regular free throw 2 of 2	50-52
9:44	+3	Zakai Zeigler makes three point jump shot (Tyreke Key assists)	53-52
9:23		Jordan Wright misses two point jump shot
9:21		Quentin Millora-Brown offensive rebound
9:18		Quentin Millora-Brown misses two point layup
9:17		Olivier Nkamhoua defensive rebound
9:17		Olivier Nkamhoua turnover (bad pass)
9:04		Colin Smith misses three point jump shot
9:02		Liam Robbins offensive rebound
8:58		Jonas Aidoo blocks Liam Robbins's two point layup
8:56		Zakai Zeigler defensive rebound
8:51		Jordan Wright personal foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
8:47		Tyreke Key misses two point jump shot
8:45		Volunteers offensive rebound
8:34	+2	Julian Phillips makes two point jump shot	55-52
8:09		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
8:07		Trey Thomas offensive rebound
7:57	+2	Liam Robbins makes two point layup	55-54
7:57		TV timeout
7:42		Olivier Nkamhoua turnover (lost ball) (Jordan Wright steals)
7:12		Tobe Awaka blocks Liam Robbins's two point layup
7:10		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
6:57		Zakai Zeigler misses two point jump shot
6:55		Olivier Nkamhoua offensive rebound
6:41		Zakai Zeigler misses two point jump shot
6:39		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
6:28	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot	55-57
6:16		Liam Robbins blocks Olivier Nkamhoua's two point jump shot
6:14		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
5:54		Tyreke Key personal foul (Liam Robbins draws the foul)
5:43		Tobe Awaka shooting foul (Liam Robbins draws the foul)
5:43	+1	Liam Robbins makes regular free throw 1 of 2	55-58
5:43		Liam Robbins misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:43		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
5:20		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
5:18		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
4:49		Ezra Manjon misses two point layup
4:47		Liam Robbins offensive rebound
4:44		Liam Robbins misses two point layup
4:42		Julian Phillips defensive rebound
4:36		Tobe Awaka misses two point jump shot
4:34		Liam Robbins defensive rebound
4:12		Tyrin Lawrence turnover (lost ball)
4:01	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Tobe Awaka assists)	58-58
3:43	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point layup (Liam Robbins assists)	58-60
3:36		Tyreke Key misses two point layup
3:34		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
3:24	+2	Santiago Vescovi makes two point layup	60-60
3:15		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
3:13		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
3:13		TV timeout
3:01		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
2:59		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
2:55		Liam Robbins blocks Tobe Awaka's two point layup
2:53		Ezra Manjon defensive rebound
2:35		Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot
2:33		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
2:14		Tobe Awaka misses two point layup
2:12		Ezra Manjon defensive rebound
2:05		Tobe Awaka shooting foul (Colin Smith draws the foul)
2:05	+1	Colin Smith makes regular free throw 1 of 3	60-61
2:05	+1	Colin Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 3	60-62
2:05	+1	Colin Smith makes regular free throw 3 of 3	60-63
1:44		Liam Robbins blocks Zakai Zeigler's two point layup
1:42		Olivier Nkamhoua offensive rebound
1:38	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot	63-63
1:04		Colin Smith misses two point layup
1:02		Zakai Zeigler defensive rebound
0:50	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point jump shot (Zakai Zeigler assists)	65-63
0:26		Liam Robbins misses two point jump shot
0:24		Zakai Zeigler defensive rebound
0:15		Tyrin Lawrence personal foul
0:15		Volunteers 30 second timeout
0:15		TV timeout
0:14		Ezra Manjon personal foul (Zakai Zeigler draws the foul)
0:10		Colin Smith personal foul (Julian Phillips draws the foul)
0:08		Jordan Wright personal foul (Zakai Zeigler draws the foul)
0:08		Commodores 30 second timeout
0:08		Volunteers 30 second timeout
0:08		Tyrin Lawrence personal foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
0:08		Santiago Vescovi misses regular free throw 1 of 1
0:08		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
0:04		Commodores 60 second timeout
0:01	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	65-66
0:00		End of period

+ 3

Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)