LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Talk about turning it on after halftime.
No. 24 Vanderbilt shot 69 percent in the second half to overcome a five-point deficit at the break and beat Arizona 84-72 in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday.
A.J. Ogilvy had 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks to lead the Commodores, who racked up 12 fouls on Arizona in the first half. Jermaine Beal added 18 points and five assists.
“The foul trouble that we were able to create in the first half helped us in the second half,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “Our defense was really pleasing. It was a pleasing performance all the way around for us.”
The Commodores (4-1) shot 53 percent from the field overall, including 7 of 20 from beyond the 3-point line to make up for woeful free-throw shooting — 15 for 29.
Ogilvy had 13 points in the second half.
“A.J. was on top of his game. He really gave us a great offensive post presence,” Stallings said. “He lived up to what he can do and really played well today.”
Arizona (3-2) was led by Solomon Hill’s 17 points and Kyle Fogg’s 10. Nic Wise, coming off a 30-point effort in an overtime win over Colorado, was limited to nine.
“We did a really good job defensively on Wise. He is a really, really good player,” Stallings said. “Hill really gave us the business, but we did a good job on Wise.”
Jeffery Taylor added 13 points for Vanderbilt, which went 18 for 26 from the field in the second half to overcome a 41-36 halftime deficit.
“When you let somebody shoot 18 for 26 in the second half you are not going to beat anybody when you give that up,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “Vanderbilt was the better team tonight.”
The Commodores went on a 14-2 run midway through the second half to turn a 54-49 deficit into a 63-56 lead. John Jenkins’ three-point play with 10:50 left gave Vanderbilt a 57-56 advantage, and it led the rest of the way.
“We knew we had to get some stops down the stretch,” Beal said. “We made some shots and we kind of pulled away at the end.”
Ogilvy’s defense added to Arizona’s shooting woes at times. The Wildcats were 26 for 60 from the field (43 percent) and 6 for 18 from long range.
“I thought that was a really good college basketball game,” Stallings said. “If you enjoy watching good basketball, that was a good one.”
