Nashville, TN - Vanderbilt's sharp shooting night was too much to overcome as Mississippi State fell 77-72 to the Commodores in the regular season finale.
The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle by a staggering 45-24, but the great equalizer was the three-point shot. The Commodores were without star center Liam Robbins, but their guards stepped up in his absence and shot a combined 12/25 from three while Mississippi State shot just 4/17.
Jordan Wright hit 3/5 from downtown and led Vanderbilt with 19 points, while Myles Stute scored all 12 of his points on 4/8 from deep. Junior Tyrin Lawrence put up 16 and UC Davis transfer Ezra Manjon chipped in 15.
The Commodores hot three-point shooting gave them a 37-27 halftime lead. Bulldog big man Tolu Smith scored Mississippi State's first nine points of the 2nd half and helped them cut it to six. The 6'11" senior picked up his tenth double-double of the season as he scored a game-high 27 points and added 11 rebounds.
Shakeel Moore got hot for the Bulldogs, scoring six of his 13 points in a three-minute stretch. D.J. Jeffries dished an alley-oop to Shawn Jones to cut the Vanderbilt lead to 49-47, but Vanderbilt got hot from deep again and extended its lead to 64-53 behind three triples from Stute.
The Bulldogs worked its way back into the ballgame behind a putback from Smith, a layup from Moore and a three by Jones to make it 69-65 with 1:34 to play. Lawrence found himself wide open on a backdoor cut to make the Vandy lead six, and Jones got fouled down the other end on what looked like an and-1. They called the foul on the floor, but luckily State was in the bonus and Jones knocked down both shots.
Mississippi State intentionally fouled Wright with 47 seconds on the clock and he made both shots to put Vandy back up six. Smith was fouled with 19 seconds left and made his first shot. He missed the second but battled for the loose ball and kicked it to Jeffries for an easy lay-in, making it a 74-72 game.
Another intentional foul put Manjon on the line for two, but he only made one giving State a chance to tie. Shakeel Moore had a decent look on the left wing but missed the rim, and as Vanderbilt grabbed the rebound, the Bulldogs fouled Wright who sealed the deal on the win with two free throws.
Mississippi State was sitting firmly on the bubble and likely needed this game to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. It's unclear where the projections will have them after the loss. They'll have a chance at another victory as they'll take in Florida in the SEC Tournament on Thursday, a game that will likely make or break their season.
