NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Michael Qualls sank a 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining to lift Arkansas to its first road victory of the season in a 77-75 win Saturday that ended Vanderbilt’s four-game win streak.
Qualls finished with 17 points for the Razorbacks (15-8, 4-6 Southeastern Conference). Coty Clarke added 14, Rashad Madden scored 12 and Mardracus Wade had 11.
Rod Odom scored 22 points and Kyle Fuller had 20 for the short-handed Commodores (13-9, 5-5), who have only seven scholarship players. Fuller’s two free throws with 11.6 seconds left gave the Commodores a 75-74 lead, and Odom missed a jumper on the buzzer.
Fuller hit one of two free throws and Siakam made an inside bucket as Vanderbilt went ahead 71-68 with 3 minutes left after a 12-0 run. Madden’s 3-pointer, however, ended the Razorbacks’ drought and evened the game again.
Damian Jones scored 12 points for Vanderbilt, and Dai-Jon Parker had 11 including 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
The Razorbacks’ hot shooting (15 of 22 for 68 percent the first 16 minutes) and full-court press (nine first-half steals) wore on the Commodores’ small roster. Vanderbilt played only eight including a walk-on due to injury, dismissal and departures.
Parker picked up his fourth foul with 16 minutes to go just after his 3-pointer pulled the Commodores within 51-48. Wade’s three-point play on the foul pushed Arkansas back out to 54-48, and Bobby Portis stepped out for a 3-pointer for the largest lead at 57-48.
Fuller did a flip after being fouled on the break following Siakam’s block, the basket dropped in and Fuller -completed the three-point point play to cut it to 68-62. Vanderbilt then tied it after Siakam had two big defensive plays, stealing an interior pass before Odom’s 3-pointer and taking a charge before Jones powered it in for a tie at 68.
Clarke had 11 first-half points on the way to a 20-17 Razorbacks lead, including nine straight during an 11-5 run.
Arkansas scored seven straight points for a 27-19 lead on Qualls’ first 3-pointer and two steals off the press that led to Jacorey Williams’ back-to-back baskets. But the Commodores retook the lead 31-30 with a 12-3 spurt including four free throws by Fuller and consecutive treys by Parker and Fuller.
Arkansas regained the lead 33-31 on Wade’s 3-pointer, and stretched it to back out to seven points with Portis and Kingsley along with Madden’s 3-pointer.
Vanderbilt, coming off a dramatic 64-60 victory over rival Tennessee, went up early 8-5 on Odom and Parker 3-pointers followed by Parker free throws. The loss ended the Commodores’ longest win streak since the 2012 postseason.
