Vanderbilt rallies over Alabama with 3's
Vanderbilt freshman guard Wade Baldwin followed his coach with his own apology Saturday, only it dealt with the play on the court.
At halftime against Alabama, Baldwin told his team he was sorry for committing a couple of early turnovers and defensive lapses. But by then, he already had sparked a hot shooting streak that carried the Commodores to a 73-66 win at Memorial Gym.
"Those shots were good," said Baldwin, who scored a team-high 15 points and made his first four 3-point attempts to rally Vanderbilt from a 14-point deficit. "… I kind of owed the team, and I apologized at halftime."
Baldwin was the target of coach Kevin Stallings' profanity-laced postgame rant in the handshake line at Tennessee on Thursday.
Stallings has apologized, and Baldwin supported his coach on Twitter on Thursday night and again after Saturday's win, saying, "I am just happy to be playing for him and happy to get back on the home floor."
Baldwin's four 3-pointers tied his career high. He made two 3-pointers in the final minute of the first half and two more during a 23-5 run to start the second half.
Alabama coach Anthony Grant said Baldwin's first two 3s were the turning point of the game. "It got him a rhythm and a confidence," Grant said.
Vanderbilt (17-12, 7-9 SEC) opened the second half 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, resembling the 9-of-11 second-half 3-point barrage that carried the Commodores to a come-from-behind victory at UT.
"We couldn't break their rhythm," Grant said.
Alabama (17-12, 7-9) led for nearly 27 minutes until the Commodores caught fire. They buried four 3-pointers in a span of three minutes, two seconds. Baldwin made two straight 3s sandwiched around Damian Jones' two-point basket.
Matthew Fisher-Davis then hit a 3 in transition, and Luke Kornet nailed another from long range for a 50-43 Vanderbilt lead with 10:13 remaining.
For good measure, Kornet followed the run with another 3-pointer at the 8:01 mark, and Vanderbilt never relinquished the lead.
Fisher-Davis had 13 points. James Siakam scored 12 and Kornet added 11.
Alabama was led by Retin Obasohan's 16 points.
The Commodores made 18 of 21 from the free-throw line in the second half, including 15 straight, and they now have hit 34 3-pointers in the past three games.
"Shooting covers a multitude of sins," Stallings said.
Vanderbilt finished with a 6-2 record in February after losing seven straight in January, two statistics on Baldwin's mind after the game.
"We are just moving on to the next thing," Baldwin said. "February is over. In January, we had our tough losses. We were 6-2 in February, and now we move on to March. Hopefully, we continue this win streak."
Vanderbilt finishes up the regular season versus Mississippi State on Wednesday and at Ole Miss on March 7. The SEC Tournament is March 11-15 at Bridgestone Arena.
Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
VANDERBILT 73, ALABAMA 66
ALABAMA (17-12) Taylor 3-4 3-4 9, Norris 1-8 0-0 3, Randolph 5-13 3-4 13, Cooper 5-11 0-0 12, Obasohan 6-13 2-2 16, Kessens 5-7 0-0 10, Coleman 0-1 0-0 0, Slaughter 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-58 8-10 66.
VANDERBILT (17-12) Siakam 2-4 8-10 12, Jones 3-11 3-4 9, Baldwin IV 5-10 1-2 15, Fisher-Davis 4-9 2-2 13, LaChance 2-6 4-4 8, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Kornet 4-7 0-0 11, Roberson 1-3 2-3 5. Totals 21-51 20-25 73.
Halftime—Alabama 38-27. 3-Point Goals—Alabama 6-18 (Obasohan 2-4, Cooper 2-5, Slaughter 1-1, Norris 1-5, Coleman 0-1, Randolph 0-2), Vanderbilt 11-19 (Baldwin IV 4-5, Kornet 3-5, Fisher-Davis 3-7, Roberson 1-1, LaChance 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Alabama 37 (Norris 10), Vanderbilt 29 (Fisher-Davis 6). Assists—Alabama 11 (Randolph 3), Vanderbilt 13 (LaChance 5). Total Fouls—Alabama 21, Vanderbilt 14. A—9,928.