NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 18 Vanderbilt led wire-to-wire for the third consecutive game Saturday to defeat Ole Miss 71-68 at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores (19-3, 6-3 SEC) weathered several runs from the Rebels (11-10, 3-5 SEC) to win their third game in a row.
Tyler Tanner led the way with 24 points, his eighth 20-plus performance this season. AK Okereke joined him in double figures, matching his season-high with 17 points.
The Commodores didn’t trail in the first half thanks in part to 12 points off nine Ole Miss turnovers.
Vanderbilt stretched its lead to 13 on a Tyler Harris fast-break dunk with 5:50 to go before halftime. The Rebels trimmed the deficit with an 8-0 run but the Dores finished the first half strong to take a 31-23 advantage into the break.
Ole Miss pulled within three in the opening minutes of the second half, but Vanderbilt responded with an 11-3 run to stay on top.
The Rebels cut Vandy’s lead to just two with 3:03 remaining. Jalen Washington knocked down a pair of free throws and Mike James drilled a three-pointer to increase Vandy’s advantage back to seven. James finished with nine points to go with nine rebounds.
A three-pointer by Ole Miss with 45 seconds left again made it a one-possession game with Vandy in front 70-68. Okereke was fouled with 15.9 seconds on the clock and made the first free throw. The Clovis, California, native knocked down 11-of-13 free throws on the day.
Ole Miss got two looks at the game-tying three-pointer on the other end with neither falling as the Commodores held on.
Vanderbilt and Ole Miss finished even in rebounds. The Rebels turned the ball over 17 times to Vanderbilt’s 16 and shot 42.3 percent while the Dores went 43.6 percent from the field.
Malik Dia and Aj Storr finished with 16 points each to lead the Rebels with Ilias Karmadine adding 14 points.
Vanderbilt has the week off before facing Oklahoma on February 7 at Memorial Gymnasium.
