VANDY

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Manjon, Vanderbilt jolt No. 23 Kentucky at SEC quarters

AP
Mar 11, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Kentucky Wildcats have had their way with Vanderbilt for nearly a century.

Not this season.

Not with coach Jerry Stackhouse and his Commodores, whose confidence keeps growing with each win.

Ezra Manjon scored 25 points and Vanderbilt jolted No. 23 Kentucky, rallying from an early 10-point deficit to beat the Wildcats 80-73 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse had been 1-8 against Kentucky, while the Commodores beat the Wildcats at least twice in the same season for only the ninth time in 94 seasons. Vanderbilt senior guard Jordan Wright said it felt good.

“One of the biggest brands in college basketball, any time you get a chance to beat them, feels great," Wright said. “Especially that loss in the SEC Tournament (a year ago). We had ’em. Felt like we should have won that game.”

Vanderbilt (20-13) followed up its first win at Rupp Arena since January 2007 last week by beating Kentucky to advance to Saturday's semifinals against No. 18 Texas A&M, a 67-61 winner over Arkansas. The Commodores also posted their first 20-win season since 2014-15.

Stackhouse called this win just another step on the path for his Commodores.

“We still got a plan on something more,” Stackhouse said. “I honestly feel that we can win it all. If we get an opportunity to get in, this team deserves, the country deserves to see.”

Fourth-seeded Kentucky (21-11) appeared ready to cruise early with a 10-0 run going up 14-4. Coach John Calipari knows exactly where his Wildcats lost: by making free throws and beating the shot clock again and again.

“Got to throw daggers this time of the year," Calipari said. "You got to take care of what’s in front of you, and we didn’t tonight.”

Vanderbilt now has won 10 of its last 11 and never blinked despite making only one field goal in the final 6:29. The Commodores beat Kentucky by going 18 of 20 at the free throw line while Kentucky was 11 of 20.

Tyrin Lawrence and Wright each had 18 points for Vanderbilt.

Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 22 points. Jacob Toppin had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Oscar Tshiebwe had 19 points and 15 rebounds.

The Commodores took control scoring the final 12 points of the first half with Colin Smith giving them the lead for good at 36-34 with 32.2 seconds left in the first half on a pair of free throws after a Flagrant 1 on Tschiebwe. Vandy led 39-34 at halftime.

Vanderbilt then opened the second half outscoring Kentucky 13-8 and took its biggest lead at 52-40 with 15:43 left. Then the Commodores went cold, missing six of seven shots with Kentucky whittling that lead down to single digits.

Kentucky got within 63-60 after a pair of free throws by Reeves. But Manjon corralled a loose ball just at the half-court line, then beat the shot clock with a long 3 with 6:30 to go. Lawrence's jumper with 1:11 left was Vandy's only other made field goal.

Vandy finished 12 of 14 at the line to seal the win.

The Wildcats were the last team to take the court at this tournament, an event Kentucky has won a league-best 32 times. Yet Kentucky leaves looking for its first tournament title since 2018.

BIG PICTURE

Vanderbilt exposed Kentucky’s perimeter defense going 10 of 25 beyond the arc with five different players knocking down at least one 3 apiece. The Commodores also managed to stay close inside the paint despite being outscored 34-26. ... Vandy has won three straight against Top 25 teams for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Kentucky used its size advantage to absolutely dominate on the boards with a 43-26 edge and a 20-4 edge on second-chance points. The Wildcats also had a 14-4 edge scoring on the fast break.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt has a chance at yet another Quad 1 win in the semifinals to burnish a suddenly impressive NCAA Tournament resume.

Kentucky gets a couple more days to heal up and wait for the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

1st Half
VANDY
Commodores
39
UK
Wildcats
34

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Quentin Millora-Brown vs. Oscar Tshiebwe (Cason Wallace gains possession)
19:41	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point layup (Antonio Reeves assists)	0-2
19:15		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
19:13		Jacob Toppin defensive rebound
18:56		Jacob Toppin turnover (bad pass)
18:43		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
18:41		Antonio Reeves defensive rebound
18:35		Antonio Reeves offensive foul (Quentin Millora-Brown draws the foul)
18:35		Antonio Reeves turnover (offensive foul)
18:18	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup	2-2
17:58		Chris Livingston misses three point jump shot
17:56		Jacob Toppin offensive rebound
17:48		Antonio Reeves misses two point jump shot
17:46		Chris Livingston offensive rebound
17:42		Chris Livingston misses two point layup
17:40		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
17:40		Oscar Tshiebwe turnover (lost ball)
17:19	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	4-2
16:48	+3	Cason Wallace makes three point jump shot	4-5
16:21		Tyrin Lawrence turnover (bad pass) (Cason Wallace steals)
16:17		Tyrin Lawrence shooting foul (Antonio Reeves draws the foul)
16:17		Antonio Reeves misses regular free throw 1 of 2
16:17	+1	Antonio Reeves makes regular free throw 2 of 2	4-6
16:00		Jordan Wright turnover (bad pass)
16:00		TV timeout
15:35		Jacob Toppin misses three point jump shot
15:33		Wildcats offensive rebound
15:25		Antonio Reeves misses two point layup
15:23		Quentin Millora-Brown defensive rebound
15:09		Ezra Manjon turnover (lost ball) (Antonio Reeves steals)
14:58		Quentin Millora-Brown blocks Jacob Toppin's two point jump shot
14:56		Jacob Toppin offensive rebound
14:53	+2	Jacob Toppin makes two point layup	4-8
14:20		Ezra Manjon misses two point jump shot
14:18		Jacob Toppin defensive rebound
14:08	+3	Antonio Reeves makes three point jump shot (Cason Wallace assists)	4-11
13:49		Ezra Manjon turnover (bad pass) (CJ Fredrick steals)
13:43	+3	Antonio Reeves makes three point jump shot (CJ Fredrick assists)	4-14
13:42		Commodores 30 second timeout
13:15	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot	7-14
12:54		Lee Dort personal foul (Cason Wallace draws the foul)
12:43		Oscar Tshiebwe misses two point jump shot
12:41		Lance Ware personal foul
12:25	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup	9-14
12:15		Lance Ware offensive foul
12:15		Lance Ware turnover (offensive foul)
11:50	+3	Ezra Manjon makes three point jump shot (Jordan Wright assists)	12-14
11:23		CJ Fredrick misses two point jump shot
11:21		Lee Dort defensive rebound
11:11		Trey Thomas turnover
11:11		TV timeout
10:52		Jacob Toppin misses two point jump shot
10:50		Jacob Toppin offensive rebound
10:49	+2	Jacob Toppin makes two point jump shot	12-16
10:34		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
10:32		Cason Wallace defensive rebound
10:18		Oscar Tshiebwe misses two point layup
10:16		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
10:14	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point layup	12-18
9:58		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
9:56		Antonio Reeves defensive rebound
9:49		Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
9:47		Jacob Toppin offensive rebound
9:45		Lee Dort shooting foul (Jacob Toppin draws the foul)
9:45	+1	Jacob Toppin makes regular free throw 1 of 2	12-19
9:45		Jacob Toppin misses regular free throw 2 of 2
9:45		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
9:32		Tyrin Lawrence misses two point layup
9:30		Commodores offensive rebound
9:24		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
9:22		Jacob Toppin defensive rebound
9:11		Oscar Tshiebwe turnover (lost ball) (Paul Lewis steals)
9:05		Paul Lewis misses three point jump shot
9:03		Chris Livingston defensive rebound
8:54		Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
8:52		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
8:33	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Paul Lewis assists)	15-19
8:11	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point layup	15-21
7:52	+3	Trey Thomas makes three point jump shot (Paul Lewis assists)	18-21
7:30		Oscar Tshiebwe misses two point jump shot
7:28		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
7:21	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup	20-21
7:12	+3	Jacob Toppin makes three point jump shot (Cason Wallace assists)	20-24
6:52		Tyrin Lawrence turnover (bad pass) (Oscar Tshiebwe steals)
6:47		Jacob Toppin misses three point jump shot
6:45		Chris Livingston offensive rebound
6:42		Chris Livingston misses two point layup
6:40		Jacob Toppin offensive rebound
6:34	+2	Jacob Toppin makes two point layup	20-26
6:21	+2	Paul Lewis makes two point jump shot	22-26
6:04		Antonio Reeves misses two point jump shot
6:02		Paul Lewis defensive rebound
5:54		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
5:52		Chris Livingston defensive rebound
5:47	+2	Antonio Reeves makes two point alley-oop dunk (Jacob Toppin assists)	22-28
5:24	+3	Paul Lewis makes three point jump shot (Tyrin Lawrence assists)	25-28
5:09		Oscar Tshiebwe misses two point layup
5:07		Trey Thomas defensive rebound
4:55	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup	27-28
4:31	+2	Cason Wallace makes two point jump shot	27-30
4:10		Paul Lewis misses three point jump shot
4:08		Antonio Reeves defensive rebound
3:52	+2	Antonio Reeves makes two point layup	27-32
3:28		Myles Stute misses two point jump shot
3:26		Oscar Tshiebwe defensive rebound
3:04	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point jump shot (Cason Wallace assists)	27-34
2:29	+3	Paul Lewis makes three point jump shot (Tyrin Lawrence assists)	30-34
2:29		Antonio Reeves offensive foul
2:29		Antonio Reeves turnover (offensive foul)
2:29		TV timeout
2:14	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	32-34
1:56		CJ Fredrick turnover (bad pass) (Colin Smith steals)
1:49	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup	34-34
1:42		Wildcats 30 second timeout
1:42		TV timeout
1:20		Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot
1:18		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
1:17		Colin Smith personal foul
1:02		Jacob Toppin misses three point jump shot
1:00		Ezra Manjon defensive rebound
0:44		Jordan Wright misses two point layup
0:42		Jacob Toppin defensive rebound
0:36		Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot
0:31		Oscar Tshiebwe flagrant 1
0:31	+1	Colin Smith makes flagrant free throw 1 of 2	35-34
0:31	+1	Colin Smith makes flagrant free throw 2 of 2	36-34
0:02	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot (Paul Lewis assists)	39-34
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
VANDY
Commodores
41
UK
Wildcats
39

Time		Play	Score
19:40	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup (Quentin Millora-Brown assists)	41-34
19:13	+2	Chris Livingston makes two point layup (Oscar Tshiebwe assists)	41-36
18:57	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point jump shot	43-36
18:43		Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot
18:41		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
18:30	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup	45-36
18:29		Wildcats 30 second timeout
18:29		TV timeout
18:07	+2	Cason Wallace makes two point jump shot	45-38
17:43		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
17:41		Jacob Toppin defensive rebound
17:36		Jordan Wright shooting foul (Antonio Reeves draws the foul)
17:36		Antonio Reeves misses regular free throw 1 of 2
17:36		Antonio Reeves misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:36		Colin Smith defensive rebound
17:22	+2	Ezra Manjon makes two point layup	47-38
17:16		Cason Wallace turnover (lost ball) (Ezra Manjon steals)
17:12		Ezra Manjon misses two point layup
17:10		Cason Wallace defensive rebound
17:04		Oscar Tshiebwe misses two point layup
17:02		Wildcats offensive rebound
17:02		Antonio Reeves misses two point jump shot
17:00		Colin Smith defensive rebound
16:38		Cason Wallace personal foul
16:34		CJ Fredrick personal foul
16:22		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
16:20		Chris Livingston defensive rebound
16:16		Chris Livingston turnover (bad pass) (Tyrin Lawrence steals)
16:10		Jordan Wright misses two point layup
16:08		Quentin Millora-Brown offensive rebound
16:07	+2	Quentin Millora-Brown makes two point layup	49-38
15:51	+2	Antonio Reeves makes two point jump shot	49-40
15:43	+3	Jordan Wright makes three point jump shot	52-40
15:20	+2	Chris Livingston makes two point dunk	52-42
15:10		Jordan Wright misses three point jump shot
15:05		Commodores offensive rebound
15:05		TV timeout
14:48		Oscar Tshiebwe blocks Colin Smith's two point layup
14:46		Chris Livingston defensive rebound
14:42	+2	Antonio Reeves makes two point layup (Chris Livingston assists)	52-44
14:23		Ezra Manjon turnover (lost ball) (Oscar Tshiebwe steals)
14:20	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point layup	52-46
14:11		Oscar Tshiebwe shooting foul (Tyrin Lawrence draws the foul)
14:11	+1	Tyrin Lawrence makes regular free throw 1 of 2	53-46
14:11	+1	Tyrin Lawrence makes regular free throw 2 of 2	54-46
13:49		Jacob Toppin turnover (bad pass) (Tyrin Lawrence steals)
13:46		Paul Lewis turnover (lost ball)
13:36	+2	Antonio Reeves makes two point jump shot	54-48
13:19		Jacob Toppin personal foul
13:06	+3	Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists)	57-48
12:49		Antonio Reeves misses two point jump shot
12:47		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
12:46	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point dunk	57-50
12:31	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point jump shot	59-50
12:13		Myles Stute personal foul
12:00		Chris Livingston misses three point jump shot
11:58		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
11:58		Paul Lewis personal foul
11:58		TV timeout
11:57	+2	Jacob Toppin makes two point alley-oop dunk (Cason Wallace assists)	59-52
11:39		Trey Thomas misses three point jump shot
11:37		Oscar Tshiebwe defensive rebound
11:35		Myles Stute personal foul
11:22		Cason Wallace misses two point jump shot
11:20		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
11:10		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
11:08		Chris Livingston defensive rebound
11:00		Jacob Toppin turnover (lost ball) (Trey Thomas steals)
10:55		Trey Thomas misses two point layup
10:53		Paul Lewis offensive rebound
10:34		Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot
10:32		Oscar Tshiebwe defensive rebound
10:17		Jacob Toppin misses three point jump shot
10:15		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
10:12		Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
10:10		Commodores defensive rebound
10:00		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
9:58		Jordan Wright offensive rebound
9:47	+2	Jordan Wright makes two point layup	61-52
9:37		Cason Wallace misses two point jump shot
9:35		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
9:10		Oscar Tshiebwe shooting foul (Quentin Millora-Brown draws the foul)
9:10	+1	Quentin Millora-Brown makes regular free throw 1 of 2	62-52
9:10	+1	Quentin Millora-Brown makes regular free throw 2 of 2	63-52
8:53		Antonio Reeves misses two point jump shot
8:51		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
8:41	+2	Jacob Toppin makes two point jump shot	63-54
8:12		Ezra Manjon turnover (bad pass) (Cason Wallace steals)
7:56	+2	Oscar Tshiebwe makes two point jump shot	63-56
7:26		Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot
7:24		Jacob Toppin defensive rebound
7:20		Tyrin Lawrence shooting foul (Jacob Toppin draws the foul)
7:20		TV timeout
7:20	+1	Jacob Toppin makes regular free throw 1 of 2	63-57
7:20	+1	Jacob Toppin makes regular free throw 2 of 2	63-58
7:05		Ezra Manjon turnover (bad pass) (Cason Wallace steals)
7:02		Jordan Wright shooting foul (Antonio Reeves draws the foul)
7:02	+1	Antonio Reeves makes regular free throw 1 of 2	63-59
7:02	+1	Antonio Reeves makes regular free throw 2 of 2	63-60
6:30	+3	Ezra Manjon makes three point jump shot	66-60
6:13		Oscar Tshiebwe misses two point jump shot
6:11		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
5:47		Jacob Toppin blocks Jordan Wright's two point jump shot
5:45		Cason Wallace defensive rebound
5:38		Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
5:36		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
5:36		Quentin Millora-Brown flagrant 1 (Oscar Tshiebwe draws the foul)
5:36	+1	Oscar Tshiebwe makes flagrant free throw 1 of 2	66-61
5:36	+1	Oscar Tshiebwe makes flagrant free throw 2 of 2	66-62
5:20		Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
5:18		Quentin Millora-Brown defensive rebound
4:54		Cason Wallace shooting foul (Ezra Manjon draws the foul)
4:54	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 1 of 2	67-62
4:54	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 2 of 2	68-62
4:34	+2	Jacob Toppin makes two point jump shot	68-64
4:17		Antonio Reeves personal foul (Ezra Manjon draws the foul)
4:17	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 1 of 2	69-64
4:17	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 2 of 2	70-64
3:58		Chris Livingston misses three point jump shot
3:56		Wildcats offensive rebound
3:56		TV timeout
3:48		Quentin Millora-Brown personal foul (Oscar Tshiebwe draws the foul)
3:48		Oscar Tshiebwe misses regular free throw 1 of 1
3:48		Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound
3:26		Ezra Manjon misses two point layup
3:24		Quentin Millora-Brown offensive rebound
3:23		Quentin Millora-Brown misses two point layup
3:21		Cason Wallace defensive rebound
3:09		Oscar Tshiebwe turnover (bad pass) (Jordan Wright steals)
3:02		Cason Wallace personal foul (Jordan Wright draws the foul)
3:02	+1	Jordan Wright makes regular free throw 1 of 2	71-64
3:02		Jordan Wright misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:02		Oscar Tshiebwe defensive rebound
2:50		Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
2:49		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
2:49		Colin Smith personal foul (Oscar Tshiebwe draws the foul)
2:48		Oscar Tshiebwe misses regular free throw 1 of 1
2:48		Colin Smith defensive rebound
2:24		Ezra Manjon turnover (lost ball) (Antonio Reeves steals)
2:13	+3	Antonio Reeves makes three point jump shot (Chris Livingston assists)	71-67
1:53		Antonio Reeves personal foul (Ezra Manjon draws the foul)
1:53	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 1 of 2	72-67
1:53	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 2 of 2	73-67
1:45		Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot
1:43		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
1:42		Quentin Millora-Brown personal foul (Oscar Tshiebwe draws the foul)
1:42	+1	Oscar Tshiebwe makes regular free throw 1 of 2	73-68
1:42	+1	Oscar Tshiebwe makes regular free throw 2 of 2	73-69
1:11	+2	Tyrin Lawrence makes two point jump shot	75-69
1:00		Antonio Reeves offensive foul
1:00		Antonio Reeves turnover (offensive foul)
0:55		Jacob Toppin personal foul (Colin Smith draws the foul)
0:55	+1	Colin Smith makes regular free throw 1 of 2	76-69
0:55	+1	Colin Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2	77-69
0:45	+3	Jacob Toppin makes three point jump shot (Cason Wallace assists)	77-72
0:44		Wildcats 30 second timeout
0:38		Trey Thomas turnover (lost ball) (Jacob Toppin steals)
0:37		Jordan Wright shooting foul (Jacob Toppin draws the foul)
0:37		Jacob Toppin misses regular free throw 1 of 2
0:37		Jacob Toppin misses regular free throw 2 of 2
0:37		Jordan Wright defensive rebound
0:34		Jacob Toppin personal foul (Jordan Wright draws the foul)
0:34	+1	Jordan Wright makes regular free throw 1 of 2	78-72
0:34	+1	Jordan Wright makes regular free throw 2 of 2	79-72
0:25		Cason Wallace misses three point jump shot
0:23		Oscar Tshiebwe offensive rebound
0:23		Colin Smith personal foul (Oscar Tshiebwe draws the foul)
0:23		Oscar Tshiebwe misses regular free throw 1 of 2
0:23	+1	Oscar Tshiebwe makes regular free throw 2 of 2	79-73
0:23		CJ Fredrick personal foul (Ezra Manjon draws the foul)
0:23		Ezra Manjon misses regular free throw 1 of 2
0:23	+1	Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 2 of 2	80-73
0:14		Jacob Toppin misses three point jump shot
0:12		Colin Smith defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

Colin Smith defensive rebound