Wright scores 19, Vanderbilt beats Mississippi State 77-72

AP
Mar 04, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Jordan Wright went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final seconds and finished with 19 points, Ezra Manjon had 15 points and seven assists and Vanderbilt beat Mississippi State 77-72 Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Vanderbilt (18-13, 11-7 SEC), which has won eight of its last nine games following a 101-44 loss at No. 2 Alabama on Jan. 31., earned a first-round bye and the No. 6 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Nashville.

Tyrin Lawrence and Wright sandwiched 3-pointers around back-to-back baskets by Emmanuel Ansong to make it 10-3 and the Commodores never trailed. Colin Smith hit a 3 before Manjon made a layup less than a minute into the second half that stretched the lead to 42-27 - Vanderbilt's biggest of the game. Tolu Smith scored nine straight points to pull the Bulldogs within six about two minutes later, and Mississippi State twice trimmed its deficit to two points - the latter coming when D.J. Jeffries made a jumper with eight seconds to play - but got no closer.

Lawrence finished with 16 points and Myles Stute scored 12 on 4-of-8 shooting, all from 3-point range, for Vanderbilt.

Smith led Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10) with a career-high tying 27 points and 11 rebounds. Jeffries added 17 points and 11 rebounds and Shakeel Moore scored 13 points.

Liam Robbins - Vanderbilt's leader in scoring (15.0 per game) and rebounding (6.8) and the conference's leader in blocks (3.2) - did not play. The former Drake and Minnesota player suffered a season-ending leg injury in a win at No. 23 Kentucky on Wednesday. The 7-footer averaged 22 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.6 blocks in February as the Commodores went 6-1, their best February since 2008.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State takes on No. 11 seed Georgia or 14th-seeded LSU in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.

Vanderbilt, the No. 9 seed in the conference tourney, plays No. 8 seed Florida in the second round Friday.

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1st Half
MSST
Bulldogs
27
VAN
Commodores
37

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Tolu Smith vs. Quentin Millora-Brown (Ezra Manjon gains possession)
19:35		Ezra Manjon misses two point jump shot
19:33		Tolu Smith defensive rebound
19:13		Tolu Smith misses two point layup
19:11		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
18:46	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot	0-3
18:35		Tolu Smith misses two point layup
18:33		Quentin Millora-Brown defensive rebound
18:18		Jordan Wright turnover (lost ball) (Dashawn Davis steals)
18:01	+3	Dashawn Davis makes three point jump shot (Shakeel Moore assists)	3-3
17:32		Emmanuel Ansong misses three point jump shot
17:30		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
17:19		Dashawn Davis turnover (bad pass) (Tyrin Lawrence steals)
17:10	+2	Emmanuel Ansong makes two point layup (Ezra Manjon assists)	3-5
16:40		Tolu Smith turnover (traveling)
16:11		Emmanuel Ansong misses two point layup
16:09		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
15:56		Cameron Matthews turnover (bad pass) (Ezra Manjon steals)
15:38		Ezra Manjon misses two point layup
15:36		Emmanuel Ansong offensive rebound
15:30	+2	Emmanuel Ansong makes two point layup	3-7
15:22		Cameron Matthews turnover (lost ball) (Emmanuel Ansong steals)
15:17	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	3-10
15:01		D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot
14:59		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
14:59		Emmanuel Ansong personal foul
14:59		TV timeout
14:57	+2	D.J. Jeffries makes two point jump shot (Shakeel Moore assists)	5-10
14:41		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
14:39		Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
14:27		Eric Reed Jr. turnover (bad pass)
14:01		Will McNair Jr. blocks Ezra Manjon's two point layup
13:59		Shakeel Moore defensive rebound
13:56		Shakeel Moore misses two point layup
13:54		Commodores defensive rebound
13:25	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point jump shot	5-12
12:57	+2	Will McNair Jr. makes two point hook shot	7-12
12:36		Colin Smith misses three point jump shot
12:34		Shakeel Moore defensive rebound
12:21		Tyler Stevenson misses two point jump shot
12:19		Colin Smith defensive rebound
11:53	+3	Myles Stute makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	7-15
11:26		Will McNair Jr. offensive foul (Quentin Millora-Brown draws the foul)
11:26		Will McNair Jr. turnover (offensive foul)
11:26		TV timeout
11:19		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
11:17		Bulldogs defensive rebound
11:02		Tyler Stevenson misses two point jump shot
11:00		Tolu Smith offensive rebound
10:57		Malik Dia blocks Tolu Smith's two point layup
10:55		Tyler Stevenson offensive rebound
10:50		Tyler Stevenson misses two point layup
10:48		Tolu Smith offensive rebound
10:48		Malik Dia shooting foul (Tolu Smith draws the foul)
10:48		Tolu Smith misses regular free throw 1 of 2
10:48	+1	Tolu Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2	8-15
10:41		D.J. Jeffries personal foul
10:36		Trey Thomas misses three point jump shot
10:34		Malik Dia offensive rebound
10:28		Tyrin Lawrence turnover (lost ball) (Dashawn Davis steals)
10:24	+2	Dashawn Davis makes two point dunk	10-15
10:08	+3	Paul Lewis makes three point jump shot (Tyrin Lawrence assists)	10-18
9:33		Shawn Jones Jr. turnover (bad pass)
9:33		Tyrin Lawrence misses two point layup
9:31		Malik Dia offensive rebound
9:28		Cameron Matthews blocks Malik Dia's two point layup
9:26		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
9:01		Malik Dia shooting foul (Tolu Smith draws the foul)
9:01	+1	Tolu Smith makes regular free throw 1 of 2	11-18
9:01		Tolu Smith misses regular free throw 2 of 2
9:01		Myles Stute defensive rebound
8:49		Myles Stute turnover (traveling)
8:35		Dashawn Davis misses two point jump shot
8:33		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
8:28	+2	Tolu Smith makes two point layup	13-18
8:28		Jordan Wright shooting foul (Tolu Smith draws the foul)
8:28	+1	Tolu Smith makes regular free throw 1 of 1	14-18
8:22		Quentin Millora-Brown turnover (bad pass) (Tolu Smith steals)
8:12		D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot
8:10		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
8:06	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup	14-20
7:57	+2	D.J. Jeffries makes two point layup (Cameron Matthews assists)	16-20
7:34	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point jump shot	16-22
7:06	+2	D.J. Jeffries makes two point jump shot	18-22
6:49		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
6:47		Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
6:25		Tolu Smith offensive foul (Quentin Millora-Brown draws the foul)
6:25		Tolu Smith turnover (offensive foul)
6:25		TV timeout
5:58		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
5:56		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
5:41		D.J. Jeffries turnover (bad pass) (Tyrin Lawrence steals)
5:36	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point dunk	18-24
5:26	+2	D.J. Jeffries makes two point jump shot	20-24
5:02		Dashawn Davis personal foul
4:46	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	20-27
4:29		Shakeel Moore misses three point jump shot
4:27		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
4:24		Quentin Millora-Brown shooting foul (Cameron Matthews draws the foul)
4:24		Cameron Matthews misses regular free throw 1 of 2
4:24		Cameron Matthews misses regular free throw 2 of 2
4:24		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
3:57		Shakeel Moore personal foul (Quentin Millora-Brown draws the foul)
3:57		TV timeout
3:46		Will McNair Jr. personal foul
3:28	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point jump shot	20-29
3:07	+2	Tolu Smith makes two point layup	22-29
2:55	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot	22-32
2:52		Bulldogs 30 second timeout
2:34		Cameron Matthews misses two point layup
2:32		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
2:30		Cameron Matthews turnover (lost ball)
2:15		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
2:13		Jordan Wright offensive rebound
2:12		Jordan Wright misses two point layup
2:10		Jordan Wright offensive rebound
2:10		Jordan Wright turnover (lost ball)
1:54	+3	D.J. Jeffries makes three point jump shot (Dashawn Davis assists)	25-32
1:25	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot	25-35
1:12		Tolu Smith misses two point layup
1:10		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
1:02		Cameron Matthews turnover (lost ball) (Ezra Manjon steals)
0:57	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup	25-37
0:41		Cameron Matthews misses two point jump shot
0:39		Tolu Smith offensive rebound
0:33	+2	Tolu Smith makes two point layup	27-37
0:02		Commodores turnover (shot clock violation)
0:00		End of period

Wright scores 19, Vanderbilt beats Mississippi State 77-72

1st Half MSSTBulldogs27VANCommodores37

1st Half
MSST
Bulldogs
27
VAN
Commodores
37