FAYETTEVILLE — Daniel Gafford scored 28 points to lead Arkansas to its fourth straight SEC win 69-66 over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night.
Arkansas (14-8, 5-4) rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the first half to hand the Commodores (9-13, 0-9) their ninth consecutive loss.
Vanderbilt led 28-18 on Aaron Nesmith's pull-up jump shot from the lane with under four minutes left in the first half before Arkansas freshman Isaiah Joe went on a 3-point scoring barrage. Joe ended a three-minute stretch for the Razorbacks without a field goal with 2:57 left in the first half and drained four 3-pointers to pull Arkansas within 35-34 at halftime. Joe finished with 18 points.
Gafford, who was making just 57 percent of his free throws coming into the game, kept Arkansas in the game early by hitting 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the first half.
The Razorbacks raced to a nine-point lead midway through the second half, then saw the lead evaporate as Vanderbilt's Joe Toye hit three 3-pointers to help the Commodores go on a 12-2 run to retake the lead.
Vanderbilt's last lead came with under a minute left when Toye, who had 18 points, hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half for a 66-64 lead.
Arkansas answered on a clutch 3-pointer from Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and Mason Jones added two free throws with under 10 seconds left.
UP NEXT
Vanderbilt: The Commodores will host Alabama at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks are at South Carolina on Saturday, the first of three of the next four games on the road. Tip off is set for 12:30 p.m.
Earlier
Arkansas 69, Vanderbilt 66 - Final
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson knocked down a 3-pointer with 14 seconds to play to give Arkansas a 67-66 lead, Mason Jones added two free throws with seven seconds left and Vanderbilt missed a contested 3 with just a couple of seconds to play as the Razorbacks escape what would have been a very, very bad loss.
Daniel Gafford finished with a game-high 28 points on 9/14 shooting and 10/12 at the line. Isaiah Joe added 18 points on six 3-pointers. He scored 15 of his 18 in the first half.
Joe Toye led the Commodores with 18 points, Simi Shittu added 12 and Saben Lee 11.
We'll have much more from tonight's game a little bit later on WholeHogSports.com.
Arkansas 67, Vanderbilt 66 - 8.2 seconds left
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson just hit the biggest shot of his young career. His 3 from the right wing gave Arkansas a one-point lead with 14 seconds left. Jalen Harris then drew an offensive foul on the Commodores seconds later, giving Arkansas the ball back.
Vanderbilt 66, Arkansas 64 - 34.8 seconds left
Mason Jones hit a floater in the lane to give the Razorbacks a 64-63 lead, but the Razorbacks gave up an uncontested 3 to Toye in the right corner and the Commodores regain the lead.
Mike Anderson calls for time to set up a play to tie or take the lead.
Arkansas 62, Vanderbilt 61 - 2:31 left
A driving Isaiah Joe hit Daniel Gafford with a nice left-handed feed in the lane for a dunk and Arkansas regains the lead. Bryce Drew calls for time following a Vanderbilt offensive foul.
Vanderbilt 61, Arkansas 60 - 3:13 left
Commodores stormed back to take a Saben Lee 3-pointer. Vanderbilt went on a 12-2 run to grab the lead after the Razorbacks led by nine following a Daniel Gafford layup with 9:12 to go.
Lee, Shittu and Toye have all of Vanderbilt's points in the second half, and Toye/Lee are 5/6 from distance since the break. They have singlehandedly shot the Commodores back in this one. Now, they lead at the final media timeout.
Arkansas 58, Vanderbilt 55 - 7:19 left
Arkansas' lead appeared pretty comfortable. That was until it just decided to leave the Commodores' 3-point shooters unattended. Joe Toye has hit three 3s in the last three-plus minutes and Saben Lee, playing with four fouls, added another.
Mike Anderson called for time after Toye's third 3 of the night.
Arkansas 51, Vanderbilt 43 - 11:34 left
Adrio Bailey knocked down his second long jumper of the night, jabstepping at his defender and clearing plenty of room before finally pulling the trigger and hitting all net. Desi Sills then scored for the first time since the Georgia game by attacking the rim and getting to the line. He hit both free throws.
Razorbacks shooting 50 percent in the second half. Vanderbilt is 3/12 so far.
Arkansas 47, Vanderbilt 39 -14:53 left
Daniel Gafford has 10 points since halftime and 22 for the game, guiding the Razorbacks to what feels like a fairly comfortable lead. Still a lot of game left, but Arkansas feels in control. Gafford has been everywhere in the last few minutes, scrapping for rebounds and extra possessions and still knocking down free throws. He's 9/11 tonight at the stripe.
Isaiah Joe, who hit four 3s in the final three minutes of the first half, hit his sixth 3 just more than two minutes into the second. He has 18 points on 6/9 from distance. When his shot is falling, he is on another plane of existence.
Vanderbilt 35, Arkansas 34 - Halftime
isaiah Joe went berserk in the final 2:51 of the first half, knocking down four 3s to bring Arkansas within one at halftime. He has a game-high 15 points on 5/8 from deep.
Daniel Gafford finished the half strong after a subpar start. He has 12 points on just 2/5 from the floor, but he hit 8/9 at the line and made Vanderbilt pay that way. He also has three boards and an impressive block on Maxwell Evans at the rim. Evans tried him and was turned away.
The Commodores have been fairly tough to guard in the first half because of their balance. Seven players have scored and five have at least five points. Aaron Nesmith leads all Vanderbilt players with eight points on 3/7 shooting and 2/5 from distance. Vanderbilt shot 52 percent in the first half.
Outside of Joe and Gafford, only three Razorbacks have scored. Mason Jones has three but hasn't scored since the 18:38 mark, Keyshawn Embery-Simpson hit his first shot but has missed his last two and Adrio Bailey hit an early jumper. That's the scoring for Arkansas so far.
Vanderbilt 28, Arkansas 23 - 2:50 left first half
Just like that, Gafford hits a pair at the line, Arkansas gets a stop defensively and runs in transition. Isaiah Joe caps the short spurt with a left-corner 3 to cut the Vandy lead in half. Bryce Drew immediately calls for time.
Vanderbilt 28, Arkansas 18 - 3:45 left first half
Razorbacks have been outscored 28-12 since jumping out to their 6-0 lead just minutes into the game. Arkansas doesn't have anyone going offensively, and the Commodores are being patient and getting good looks when they have the ball.
Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones are a combined 0/5 shooting since knocking down their first jumpers. Daniel Gafford is the only Razorbacks player with more than three points. He has eight and will be at the line when play resumes. Razorbacks need to close the half strong. This crowd is getting a bit antsy, and understandably so.
Vanderbilt 18, Arkansas 13 - 8:00 left first half
Arkansas has been incredibly sloppy tonight since its 6-0 start. Razorbacks have turned the ball over eight times already, and Reggie Chaney has three in just five minutes. He literally had no other stats in his five minutes aside from the turnovers.
Vanderbilt isn't doing anything spectacular tonight except scoring around the rim with relative ease. Commodores are 5/7 on layups and shooting 50 percent from the floor to this point.
Vanderbilt 13, Arkansas 11 - 11:31 left first half
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson continues to shoot the ball well, knocking down his first shot of the night. It was a long 2, and makes him 7 of his last 10 from the floor. Daniel Gafford has three points on a runout dunk and-1. He's kind of struggled early, missing 3 of his first 4 shots to go with a turnover.
Vanderbilt is 5/10 from the floor so far and 2/6 from 3-point range.
Vanderbilt 8, Arkansas 6 - 15:57 left first half
The Razorbacks got off to a great start offensively with Isaiah Joe burying his first 3 of the night and Mason Jones knocking down on of his own. Arkansas jumped out to that 6-0 lead, but Vanderbilt has scored eight unanswered to take a lead into the first media timeout.
Aaron Nesmith and Matt Ryan each have a 3 for the Commodores in the opening minutes. Clevon Brown has the other bucket. Arkansas has missed its last four shots since Joe and Jones' triples and Adrio Bailey was hit with a foul on a moving screen just before the break.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Adrio Bailey and Daniel Gafford.
Coming off an emotional win at LSU, getting off to a good start to alleviate any doubt of a letdown is big, I think. Arkansas shot the ball extremely well in Baton Rouge and got key contributions from Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and Gabe Osabuohien. We'll see if Embery-Simpson can finally string a pair of impressive shooting nights together. Jalen Harris' jumper was a weapon against the Tigers, too. He knocked down all three of his midrange jumpers as well as his fourth 3-pointer in SEC play in the win. Arkansas has to like its chances anytime he shoots the ball efficiently.
As usual, turning Vanderbilt over will be important. Arkansas is forcing a turnover at the third-highest rate in the league - 21.8 percent. The Commodores want to bring the game to a halt. Per KenPom, their 19.2 seconds per possession offensively is the slowest mark in the SEC. Another place the Razorbacks have a distinct advantage is inside the arc. SEC opponents have shot 55.6 percent on 2-point field goals against Vanderbilt, which is dead last by a fairly large margin. LSU is 13th at 53.9 percent.
Vanderbilt's starters: Saben Lee, Clevon Brown, Matt Ryan, Simisola Shittu and Aaron Nesmith.
It isn't difficult to understand why the Commodores are yet to win a game in SEC play. According to KenPom, Vanderbilt ranks last in the league in offensive efficiency, scoring a woeful 93.7 points per 100 possessions, while placing 12th in defensive efficiency - 113.4 points per 100 possessions - ahead of only Georgia and Texas A&M. If there is one thing coach Bryce Drew's team is good at it's getting to the line. The Commodores have the second-best free throw rate (FTA/FGA) in the SEC at 43.6 percent. Only LSU gets to the line more in conference games. But, Vanderbilt ranks last in the SEC in free throw shooting.
Offensively, Nesmith and Lee lead the way, averaging 14.9 and 13.9 points per game, respectively, in conference. Lee has been on a bit of scoring tear of late, scoring at least 13 points in each of the team's last six games and 17.5 points in that span on 48 percent shooting. Shittu is Vanderbilt's best interior player, scoring 9.1 points and grabbing 6.5 boards in league play. Shittu leads all SEC freshmen in rebounding.
Running updates by Scottie Bordelon