CHC: 'Dores Score 130 on Ole Miss

CHC: ‘Dores Score 130 on Ole Miss

2/21/2006

On December 22, 1970, Vanderbilt and the University of Mississippi got tangled up in an old fashion basketball shootout. The 15,400 exhausted Commodore fans got their money’s worth.

At the end of the record-breaking night at Memorial Gymnasium, both schools had set one Southeastern Conference record with 16 school and individual scoring records. Vanderbilt won the game, 130-112 a scoring record that remains today for the Commodores.

Super sophomore Johnny Neumann, who after only eight games, was the nation’s leading scorer, led Ole Miss. His 53 points was a game-high and remains today a Memorial Gymnasium record for most points by an individual.

Roy Skinner’s club entered the game with a mediocre 3-4 record. Coach Cob Jarvis led the Rebels with a 6-1 record.

Vanderbilt had seven players to score in double figures: Van Oliver (24), Thorpe Weber (18), Rod Freeman (16), Ray Maddux (16), Tom Arnholt (15), Rudy Thacker (15) and Jimmy Conn (10).

The Rebels led at halftime, 60-54 as Neumann went into the locker room with 26 points. Oliver, a junior, started the game at center in place of the struggling 7-foot-4 Steve Turner and led the Commodores to a blistering 76-second half points.

After trailing the Rebels 71-68, the Commodores scored 19 unanswered points and coasted the rest of the game. Ole Miss was held without a field goal for seven minutes in that span.

Vanderbilt also out rebounded Mississippi 64-50 while winning at the foul line 26-of-30 and 16-of-30 for the Rebs. Maddux recorded a game-high 16 rebounds joining Oliver (15) and Freeman (8) as the Vanderbilt board leaders.

The Commodores shot

51.5% (52-101) compared to Ole Miss 50.5% (48-95). The 100 combined field goals was a then-SEC record. Only the LSU (61) and Loyola Maramount (52) game in 1990 tops the current SEC record with 113. Vanderbilt also had the edge in turnovers, 21-17.

The 242 total points is an SEC record for a pair of conference teams. Vanderbilt’s 130 points is eighth best ever for an SEC team. In 1992, LSU beat Northern Arizona 159-86 for the most points scored by an SEC team. The most combined points scored involving an SEC team was in 1990 when LSU defeated Loyola Marymount 148-141 (289 points).

“This is one they will be talking about for a long time,” Skinner told The Tennessean after the game. “It’s a great feeling just to cut loose. And we cut loose tonight. Believe me, it was a great feeling to see Oliver and Maddux take charge of the boards in the last half. During that stretch, when we busted it open, they just cleaned it.”

Maddux was a 6-foot-8 sophomore who was held to just two points at the end of the first half. In the second half he cleared the boards for 14-second half points to spark Vanderbilt.

“I’ve been down on the third team and it’s mighty dreary when you know that’s exactly where you belong,” said Maddux a former all-stater from Nashville’s Stratford High School. “After I played so badly against St. John’s, I realized I had lost my confidence.

“But I felt relaxed in the first half and when Coach Skinner started me in the second half it set me on fire. By golly, I said to myself ‘if they have this much faith in me, I have to fight.’ And everything felt right for me.”

Weber was a Commodore senior co-captain and gave all his teammates credit for the scoring barrage and all the aspects of the game.

“Van (Oliver) led the way out there on the court,” said Weber. “His hustling caught on and he did a great job.

“Neumann is a far better all-around player than Pete Maravich ever was. “He’s unselfish and he’s a gentleman on the court. He is also a remarkable shooter.”

The tough Mississippi loss did break seven school and individual records. Neumann’s scoring outburst erased the Memorial Gymnasium scoring record of 42 points held

by Kentucky’s Louie Dampier and Vanderbilt’s Bo Wyenandt.

“It’s a heck of a game to lose, but both teams went after each other and they won,” said Jarvis. “We caught this bunch on the wrong night. They wore us down on the boards and hit everything in sight. Maddux had a fine second half. We also had that long dry spell (seven minutes) without a field goal. We only compounded our troubles when we tried to catch up too quickly and made the mistakes.”

Vanderbilt finished the season 13-13 (SEC 9-9) and fourth place in the conference. Ole Miss finished that season with an 11-15 (SEC 6-12) record.

Commodore History Corner readers are asked to submit to me their all-time Vanderbilt basketball team. Please send me your first team consisting of five players and your second team. Include a coach. This is just for fun and not official. Results will be published in March. Let’s go with a traditional center, two guards and two forwards. If you have any comments or suggestions you can contact Bill Traughber via e-mail WLTraughber@aol.com.