NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyrin Lawrence scored 22 points as Vanderbilt rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half and beat No. 15 Arkansas 97-84 on Saturday to snap a two-game skid.
Vanderbilt (9-8, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) trailed 42-32 before the 3s started falling. They used a 16-4 run with back-to-back 3s by Trey Thomas tying it at 56 and then Jordan Wright’s 3 putting Vandy up 59-56 with 12:18 left.
Wright’s jumper with 8:34 left capped an 8-0 spurt and gave the Commodores a 69-59 lead. They pushed that to as much as 73-59 with 7:43 left on a pair of free throws by Liam Robbins. The fifth-year forward scored all 14 of his points in the second half after playing only a minute in the first half with two fouls.
Arkansas (12-5, 1-4) lost its third straight and never got closer than seven down the stretch as the Commodores knocked down all 12 free throws in the final 1:57.
Wright finished with 17 points for Vanderbilt, which improved to 7-3 at Memorial Gym this season. Myles Stute had 15, and Trey Thomas added 13 in a chippy game that featured three reviews with a Flagrant 1 for Arkansas and Vanderbilt guard Ezra Manjon ejected before halftime.
Ricky Council IV led the Razorbacks with 24 points, and Anthony Black added 20. Davonte Davis had 17 and Makhi Mitchell finished with 11.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas is used to slow starts in league play starting 1-3 each of the past two years only to finish in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. But the Razorbacks needed this win badly. This is their third of four road games to start the SEC slate, and they finish with two of their final three on the road at Alabama and Tennessee.
Vanderbilt had come close losing by three at then-No. 20 Missouri and by nine at No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday night. The Commodores showed just how dangerous they can be when their 3-point shot falls. … The Commodores beat Arkansas in back-to-back games for the first time since March 2013 after losing 11 of the previous 13 in this series.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
This loss coming on the heels of back-to-back losses by double digits definitely will drop the Razorbacks.
UP NEXT
Arkansas: Visits Missouri on Wednesday night.
Vanderbilt: Hosts No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday night.
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