OXFORD, Miss. – No. 24 Vanderbilt erased a 12-point deficit behind a 34-point onslaught from Tyler Tanner as the Commodores claimed an 89-86 overtime win over Ole Miss at The Pavilion on Tuesday night.
Tanner’s 34 points led all scorers. The sophomore added seven assists, five steals and five rebounds to join Ben Simmons as the only SEC players to record 30-plus points and 5-plus assists, rebounds and steals in the past 30 years. Tanner is the only to accomplish the feat in an SEC contest.
AK Okereke added 16 points, five assists and five rebounds in the win. Duke Miles joined with 16 points while adding a pair of assists and steals. Devin McGlockton piled up 14 rebounds including eight on the offensive end.
Ole Miss (12-18, 4-13 SEC) was led by Patton Pinkins with 16 points. Ilias Kamardine and AJ Storr added 14 each while Malik Dia put up 11 to give the Rebels four in double figures.
The Rebels raced to a 15-3 lead as Vanderbilt (23-7, 10-7 SEC) sputtered offensively, hitting just one of its first 13 shots. The Dores chipped away, taking a brief lead on a Tanner three-pointer with three minutes to play in the half. Ole Miss finished the frame with a 5-0 run to take a 37-33 lead at half.
Ole Miss pushed its lead to seven with eight minutes to play in the second half before Vanderbilt rallied down the stretch. Trailing by four with 1:17 to play, Miles hit back-to-back buckets in the paint to pull Vanderbilt even. Each side traded free throws with 26 second to play, sending the game to overtime.
In OT, Tanner donned his cape, scoring 10 of Vandy’s 13 points to secure the win. Tyler Nickel provided the other three with a clutch triple late in the period.
Vanderbilt shot just 38.7 percent from the floor but converted 17 Rebel turnovers into 29 points. The Dores held a 44-40 edge on the glass, including a whopping 22 offensive boards.
The Commodores return to action at Tennessee on Saturday for the regular season finale. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN.
