Vanderbilt Wins Thriller Against South Carolina With Game-Winning Shot
Vanderbilt (14-3, 2-2 conference) came into Wednesday's matchup against South Carolina (10-7, 0-4) with it virtually being a must win since the Commodores have a gauntlet beginning with their next contest that features three games in a row against top 10 teams.
One of the latest Bracketology projections had them firmly as a First Four Out team.
If Vanderbilt is going to get into the NCAA Tournament, they have to win these games against the likes of South Carolina, something they were able to accomplish with a 66-63 win.
As the final score suggests, this was a tightly contested game throughout.
It wasn't until the final four minutes of the first half when a team was able to get separation, and it just so happened to be the Commodores when they closed on an 11-4 run to enter the locker room with a 33-26 advantage.
During that time, Vanderbilt forced seven turnovers and two missed shots, only giving up the four points from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, they went 4-for-9 from the field to give themselves a much-needed advantage.
Unfortunately, they squandered it.
After almost getting out to a double-digit lead early in the second half, the Commodores allowed the Gamecocks to work their way back into the game.
Vanderbilt held off South Carolina for as long as they could, but eventually things were tied up at 56 with 6:30 remaining.
From there, it was a sprint to the end.
During the final stretch of the game, there were three lead changes and three ties, setting up an opportunity for a wild finish when Vanderbilt had the ball with 10 seconds left and things tied up at 63 apiece.
And a wild finish it was.
AJ Hoggard missed a game-winning push shot from inside the paint, but with under a second left, Devin McGlockton pulled the ball down and made a game-winning layup where he got fouled.
The junior forward made the free throw to give Vanderbilt a 66-63 lead.
South Carolina almost made the miracle heave to tie things up, but it just missed.
The Commodores will certainly leave this one happy they were able to pull off the win since they shot just 19% from the 3-point line (4-21). From the field they were better with a 41.1% shooting clip (23-56).
The saving grace for Vanderbilt was the 25 turnovers they forced compared to giving up 12 of their own. They also held South Carolina to 42.2% from the field (19-45), but allowed the Gamecocks to shoot 43.8% from deep (7-16).
Despite the missed shot at the end, Hoggard was the team's leading scorer with 14 points. He was joined in double figures by Jason Edwards, who had 13, and the game's hero McGlockton, who put up 11.
Vanderbilt will need to play much better than that in their next three contests.
They'll be back in action on Jan. 18 against the No. 6-ranked Tennessee Volunteers for a rivalry game.
Tip off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on SEC Network.