Vanderbilt survives upset bid from McNeese
By David Wasson
Published:
The March Madness 5-12 curse didn’t strike Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon, as the fifth-seeded Commodores rallied past the 12th-seeded McNeese Cowboys 78-68 in a South Region first round game in Oklahoma City.
Vanderbilt (27-8) advances to play fourth-seeded Nebraska, which thumped 13th-seeded Troy 76-47 earlier Thursday, in Saturday’s second round. McNeese sees its season end at 28-6.
The Southland Tournament champs, McNeese led Vanderbilt by as much as 11 points midway through the first half before an 8-0 Commodores flurry gave them a 38-35 lead. McNeese would get to within 3 again with 6:33 to play before Vandy reeled off a 9-0 run to put the game away.
Tyler Tanner led the Commodores with a game-high 26 points. Duke Miles added 13 points and Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton each chipped in 12 points. Garway Dual led McNeese with 16 points and Larry Johnson added 15.
Vanderbilt shot 51 percent in the game, making 26 of 51 attempts from the field. McNeese went just 25 of 69 from the field for a 36.2 shooting rate. The Commodores also were 17-for-20 from the free-throw line compared to McNeese’s 9-for-9.
The Commodores advanced to the second round for the first time since 2012. In 16 total NCAA Tournament appearances, Vanderbilt has been to the Sweet 16 six times.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
