Vanderbilt hangs on to beat Georgia, 85-82

A shorthanded Vanderbilt team went into Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday and handed the Georgia Bulldogs their first home loss of the season, hanging on late for an 85-82 win.

With Lee Dort and Liam Robbins both on the bench in walking boots, Vanderbilt needed to find some offense elsewhere — and did. In the first half, Vanderbilt was on fire from three-point range, canning 8-of-13 from deep — two each from Myles Stute (who entered the game having shot 4-of-21 from three-point range in SEC play), Paul Lewis (who saw his first action since SEC play started), Jordan Wright, and Trey Thomas. And in the absence of Robbins and Dort, Quentin Millora-Brown stepped up with five points and seven rebounds before the break.

The threes stopped falling in the second half, but that was when Ezra Manjon took over the game, scoring 15 of his team-high 19 points after the break. Vanderbilt built a 77-65 lead with 4:51 left — but of course, this wasn’t going to be easy. An 11-0 Georgia run brought the Bulldogs back within one. The Bulldogs had the chance to take a lead with 1:51 left down one, but Vanderbilt forced a shot clock violation, and, with the game on the line, the Commodores made their free throws in the final minute to salt away the win.

Behind Manjon, four more Commodores finished in double figures: Tyrin Lawrence continued his recent hot streak with 15, Myles Stute had 14, and Trey Thomas and Jordan Wright had 12 apiece. Quentin Millora-Brown grabbed 11 rebounds. Vanderbilt improves to 10-9 overall, 3-3 in the SEC, and the Commodores will welcome a visit from Kentucky on Tuesday night.