Tyler Nickel scored 21 points on a career high seven 3-points and Vanderbilt was up to upset no. 12 Texas A & M 86-84 in the Southeastern Conference Nailbite in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday.
MJ Collins added 16 points and Jason Edwards contributed 15 for Vanderbilt (19-9, 7-8 SEK), which had to survive foul problems.
Pharrel Payne led Texas A&M with 23 points and Wade Taylor IV contributed 21 points and six assists. Zhuric Phelps chipped in 14 and CJ Wilcher had 12 for aggies (20-8, 9-6), which has dropped three games in a row.
Aggie’s shooting struggle continued. They hit 37.1 percent from the field have reached 46 percent only once in the last seven matches.
2 1/2 game contained 52 fouls, 28 on Commodores. Vanderbilt’s two best big men, Devin McGlockton and Jaylen Carey, picked up their fourth fouls with 11:55 and 12:22, respectively.
Edwards, Vanderbilt’s leading goal scorer, then got his third with 9:24 left and met with a technical to argue for the conversation.
Commodores then went with rarely used other JQ Roberts under. Roberts converted a canal from a steal of nickel with 5:40 left to set up Vanderbilt up 65-57.
When the shot bell ran, Nickel preserved a 3-pointer with 4:11 left to drive the lead back to eight.
Two free throw with Collins pressed the margin to 10 with 3:33 to play.
Several late Vanderbilt turnover held the aggies in it, but Commodores knocked away a desperation height against the lane on a game of 0.2 seconds left.
Both teams fought offensively out of the gate in a slow game. Vanderbilt found some early separation thanks to smart play and good ball movement. A 15-2 driving helped it to establish a 28-16 lead, with nine of those who came on 3-points by nickel.
But Vanderbilt finished half with 11 fouls (five players who each had two) for Aggies five.
It helped aggies to do a 10-0 run late at half. Vanderbilt missed his last eight field-goal attempts before interruption and adhered to a lead of 34-32.
Taylor’s 12 points led aggies at the break.
-Field level media
