By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
Ole Miss falls to Vanderbilt 75-70 after a late rally to come up short on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
“Defensively we could not guard them,” head coach Kermit Davis said. “Gave up 60 percent in the second half. Vandy out-toughed us in every area.”
Ole Miss (13-10, 8-8 SEC) was led on the floor by senior Devontae Shuler with 25 points. Romello White was right behind him with 17 of his own while KJ Buffen and Jarkel Joiner each added 10 points.
“We could not find a second scorer KJ got going a little bit and Jarkel,” Davis said. “Really 70 is enough for us to win this game and we couldn’t guard them. We give up 75 and that is the whole thing. In a game like this if we’re supposed to be the best defensive team in our league or one of the top couple then 70 is plenty.”
White led Ole Miss with a team-high eight rebounds against the Commodores.
Ole Miss shot 44 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc against Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt was led in scoring by Trey Thomas with 14 points. The Commodores had a total of five players score in double figures Maxwell Evans (13), Issac McBride (13), Jordan Wright (12) and DJ Harvey (10).
The Commodores shot 48 percent (11-23) from beyond the arc against the Rebels.
Ole Miss won the battle on the glass as they outrebounded the Commodores 29-25 and 10-4 on the offensive glass.
Ole Miss returns to the hardwood on Tuesday as they play host to the Kentucky Wildcats inside the Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
