James Siakam Commodores lose grip late, fall in OT

Vanderbilt slunk into Memorial Gymnasium Saturday mired in a four-game free fall; losses at Mississippi State and at undefeated Kentucky dragged the Commodores’ SEC record to 1-4 and dropped them to third-last in the conference standings, above just the struggling South Carolina Gamecocks and the 7-12 Tigers of Missouri, and two games behind the day’s visitors, Louisiana State.

That Kevin Stallings’ men had to find a way through Head Coach Johnny Jones’ upstart swarm of Tigers, who stomped into Nashville following an 18-point thumping of the NCAA’s preseason No. 7 team, the Florida Gators — in Gainesville, no less — presented the Black and Gold with, if not a blood feud versus a perennial league rival, an immediate skirmish with which the team could assess the strides made in the aftermath of Tuesday’s 65-57 defeat amid the clamorous din of Rupp Arena.

Thirty seconds before tip-off, the Tigers’ starting five stood in a semicircle around the Vanderbilt star at center court, awaiting the end of their opponents’ strategic powwow. Were they licking their lips in anticipation?

From the outset, it was a battle. The student section, half-empty at the opening whistle, filled to its entirety with three minutes gone; jersey-clad supporters in the first row slapped the hardwood, leading the fans to their rear in screaming their loyalty to the home squad in spite of its ever-slackening hold on a .500-plus record. The checkerboard of beige seats interspersed among the crowd behind each basket, too, gave way to a sea of black and gold sweaters and button-downs prior to the under-16 timeout.

The Commodores overcame two early turnovers, and a Damian Jones jumper knotted the game at nine just over six minutes into the action. The teams traded punches through to the 3:18 mark, when a Tim Quarterman layup brought the Bayou Bengals of basketball back even, 25-25. Three-pointers by Wade Baldwin IV and Luke Kornet on the ensuing two possessions, however, catapulted Vanderbilt to a six-point edge.

At halftime, the hosts clung to a 35-30 advantage; Kornet led all scorers in the period with 16, shooting 7-11 from the field. Quarterman, whose 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists off the bench proved decisive at Florida, was held to one basket in the opening 20 minutes.

The second frame began much like the way the first ended. The three referees — zebras, perhaps scared by the imminent presence of purple-and-gold-striped carnivores — allowed the rough-and-tumble standard to continue unmitigated; whimsical boos and cheers peppered the trio like hunters’ bullets as Commodores and Tigers swatted back and forth in the low block.

By the under-12 timeout, however, the game’s physicality took its toll. Vanderbilt led, 50-48, when James Siakam was forced to the bench with his fourth foul. Quarterman sank one of his two free throws to cut the Tigers’ deficit to one.

The Commodores stretched their lead to six with 10:24 to go following a Damian Jones free throw. After a turnover and a missed dunk by Jeff Roberson, LSU’s Jalyn Patterson hit trifectas on two of the visitors’ next three possessions, which, sandwiched around offsetting layups from teammate Jarell Martin and Vanderbilt’s Shelton Mitchell, drew the score level at 59.

A Kornet jumper put the Commodores ahead once again, and a Jones two-pointer one minute later took the lead to four.

With 5:41 remaining, Siakam committed his fifth foul of the night and was sent marching. Patterson dropped in the resulting two shots from the charity stripe, and the lead was two.

The teams traded buckets until the 1:07 mark, when a Jeff Roberson foul — the team’s eighth of the half — sent LSU to the line. Jordan Mickey made one of the two free throws to tie the game at 69, raising his point total to 25 — matching his jersey number in the process.

The PA announcer’s deep voice boomed over the loudspeaker — “one minute!” — as the Commodores advanced the ball over half-court. Damian Jones sliced through the lane with authority, only to be whistled for a charge, his fourth foul.

LSU held the ball until the clock read just nine seconds; an off-balance jump shot from Quarterman clanged on the rim, and Jeff Roberson grabbed the rebound before Stallings motioned for timeout. An errant three from Riley LaChance at the buzzer, and the game headed for overtime.

The Tigers leaped to a 73-69 lead, their first since holding a 23-22 edge at the 4:56 mark of the first half, before two LaChance baskets pulled the teams level one last time.

A Quarterman two-pointer, followed by a Kornet turnover, a Baldwin IV foul and two Quarterman free throws, put LSU up by four. Despite a Jarell Martin foul and Kornet’s two ensuing free throws with 20 seconds remaining, the Commodores’ grasp around the throat of a close game slipped once again.

Jones missed a five-footer, and after a foul, two more Tiger free throws carved the result in stone: LSU 79, Vanderbilt 75. While not a carbon copy of the prior week’s loss in Starkville, the result was mirrored all the same.

Kornet and Baldwin IV captained the Vanderbilt charge with 22 and 18 points, respectively, while Mickey and Martin each carded double-doubles for the Tigers. The hosts were out-rebounded 42-36 (18-12 on the offensive end).

Next up: The Commodores (11-8, 1-5) travel to Athens, Georgia on Tuesday night for a rematch versus the Bulldogs; LSU (15-4, 4-2) faces off against South Carolina in Baton Rouge next Wednesday.