National Basketball Association
Vanderbilt 87, Alabama 79
When: 8:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Officials:
# Joe Lindsay, # Tony Greene, # Chuck Jones
Attendance:
9071
By Field Level Media
Junior Saben Lee scored 38 points, posting a career high for the second time in 10 days, as Vanderbilt stunned Alabama 87-79 on Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Lee, who scored 34 points in a loss to Georgia on Feb. 22, had a career-high 14 field goals on 20 attempts as the Commodores (10-20, 2-15 SEC) likely snuffed out any at-league NCAA Tournament hopes the Crimson Tide (16-14, 8-9) may have been harboring.
The Commodores snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Vanderbilt also ended its road losing streak at 19 consecutive outings dating back to a victory at Southern California on Nov. 11, 2018. The Commodores' last road win in conference play was at Ole Miss on March 3, 2018.
Dylan Disu added 14 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. 13 for the Commodores.
Kira Lewis Jr. led the Tide with 30 points while West Virginia transfer Beetle Bolden scored a season-high 24 as the only Tide senior playing on Senior Night. Jaden Shackelford added 18 for the Tide, all in the second half.
The two teams came into the game ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the SEC in 3-point field goals, and they lived up to that billing. Vanderbilt, with 235 made treys in its first 29 games, was 15 of 28 from long range while Alabama, No. 1 in the league with 318 3-pointers coming in, was 12 of 36 on treys for the game.
The Commodores opened the second half with four consecutive 3-pointers to stretch a seven-point halftime lead to 54-44. The Tide responded, catching up at 58-58 on Shackelford's layup. Vanderbilt took a the lead for good at 72-71 on Lee's layup with 5:12 to go.
Lee was a one-man show for Vanderbilt in the first half, scoring 20 points in rallying the Commodores from an early six-point deficit to a 42-35 advantage at the break.
Guard John Petty Jr., Alabama's second-leading scorer with a 15-point average, was in uniform but sat out his second consecutive game due to an elbow injury.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Vanderbilt |
|
Alabama |
|
Saben Lee 38 |
Scoring |
Kira Lewis Jr. 30 |
|
Saben Lee 5 |
Assists |
Kira Lewis Jr. 8 |
|
Dylan Disu 8 |
Rebounds |
Herbert Jones 8 |
|
Scotty Pippen Jr. 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Kira Lewis Jr. 8 |
|
Isaiah Rice 3 |
Steals |
Herbert Jones 2 |
|
Saben Lee 2 |
Blocks |
Kira Lewis Jr. 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Vanderbilt
|
87 |
55.6 |
15-28 |
12-16 |
13 |
31 |
4 |
7 |
18 |
| Alabama
|
79 |
41.3 |
12-36 |
15-21 |
13 |
32 |
3 |
5 |
12 |
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