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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- When Vanderbilt fell behind No. 12
Tennessee, Dan Langhi told his teammates exactly what they needed
to do.
"Dan kept saying, 'Ya'll screen for me and give me the ball. I
want it,' " Commodores guard Sam Howard said.
|  | | Dan Langhi, looking to pass as Tennessee's Tony Harris defends, scored 31 for Vanderbilt. |
Langhi scored 31 points Wednesday night, including 20 in the
second half, as Vanderbilt rallied from a 13-point deficit to
defeat No. 12 Tennessee 76-73.
Langhi had seven points during an 11-2 Vanderbilt run late in
the second half, including two free throws with 4:28 left that
pulled the Commodores (11-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) to within
a basket at 67-65.
"Coach told me to get the ball and the guys to screen for me
and just do what I do," Langhi said. "Anybody has that kind of
confidence in you, you kind of get going."
The Commodores went ahead 74-73 on Greg LaPointe's basket with 1:16 to play, giving Vanderbilt its first lead over Tennessee
(14-2, 2-1) since early in the game.
Atiba Prater hit two free throws with four seconds remaining to extend the Commodores' lead to three and Tennessee's Vincent
Yarbrough missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"I'm not sure how we won," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings
said. "We won and we're happy."
James Strong was the only other Commodore in double figures with 17 points.
Isiah Victor hit 8 of 10 shots and led Tennessee with 20 points and 14 rebounds. C.J. Black added 18 points.
Vanderbilt ended a streak of 31 straight road losses to ranked opponents, dating to a 1990 win at Georgia. The loss was
Tennessee's first at home in 11 games and broke an eight-game
regular season conference winning streak.
Langhi, the SEC's leading scorer, started out quickly with a
basket and a 3-pointer in the game's first minute to give the
Commodores a 5-0 lead.
After Sam Lekwauwa's dunk with 11:35 left in the half gave
Vanderbilt its last lead of the half at 18-16, the Volunteers
allowed only three baskets over the next eight minutes and eased
out to a 35-22 lead following Isiah Victor's basket.
Tennessee went into the break with a 42-30 lead on the strength of its stingy defense, which allowed the Commodores to hit only 34 percent of their shots in the half.
"I thought we played well in the first half, but the tone for
the game was set the first few minutes of the second half,"
Tennessee coach Jerry Green said. "We tried to make the fancy play
instead of keeping up the good work we had."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Vanderbilt Clubhouse
Tennessee Clubhouse
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