Commodores Fall in Austin: Texas Dominates Paint in 80-64 Victory Over Vanderbilt
Commodores Fall in Austin, Texas
Tough night in Austin, Texas, as the No. 10/8 Vanderbilt Commodores fell to the Texas Longhorns 80-64 to suffer their first loss of the season. The Commodores struggled on the boards and in the paint, as the Longhorns finished with major advantages in both categories.
Texas was led by Matas Vokietaitis. The 7-foot center was unmatched in the paint and was the major factor in the Horns’ success. Vokietaitis was solid with 22 points and 7 rebounds, and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also benefited majorly from Vanderbilt’s foul issues. If bigs are in trouble or worried about fouls, that plays right into a 7-footer’s hands.
Tramon Mark was in a groove with 21 points and went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Texas finished with four players in double figures and went through periods where they just couldn’t miss. Dailyn Swain was huge for the Longhorns and with a few more minutes of playing time may have accomplished a triple-double or come close to it. Swain finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, followed by Pope Jordan with 12 points.
Texas just had it going, and it was not Vanderbilt’s night in the paint area. To me, the loss comes back to Texas owning the glass with a 42-24 advantage and dominating in paint points 30-14.
Vanderbilt was led by Duke Miles with 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. Tyler Tanner put up 17 with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Tanner did break out of his three-point slump tonight, shooting 3-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Tyler Nickel was the only other Commodore in double digits with 10 points. It looked like Nickel might get hot before halftime, but I believe the break killed that momentum. He only scored two after halftime and only took four shots.
Texas really got after it, and once the momentum started rolling in the second half, there was no coming back for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores return home to Memorial Gymnasium for a matchup with the No. 19 Florida Gators on Saturday at 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM CT. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN. A good showing and win on Saturday will even the week out for Vanderbilt.
