NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Xavier Sneed scored a career-high 21 points and Kansas State passed its first road test of the season with an 84-79 win at Vanderbilt on Sunday.
The Wildcats (7-1) hit 92 percent of their foul shots on 22-of-24 shooting. Kamau Stokes added 20 points and Barry Brown 18.
Vanderbilt (3-5) rallied from a 16-point deficit to tie the score with 3:33 remaining on Matthew Fisher-Davis’ 3-pointer, but was outscored 13-3 the rest of the way.
Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson added to his Southeastern Conference lead with his fifth double-double by scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Saben Lee added 19 points, including 12 at the free-throw line, and Joe Toye scored 11.
Vanderbilt’s Riley LaChance fouled out after being hit with a double technical foul with 7:38 left. He exited with nine points after erupting for a career-high 27 in Tuesday’s 74-62 win over Radford.
After trailing by as many as 16 in the first half, Vanderbilt made a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 58-57 on LaChance’s 3-pointer with 9:15 remaining in the game.
K-State, whose only loss was a 92-90 setback to 20th-ranked Arizona State on Thanksgiving night, shot 62 percent in the first half to seize a 43-30 lead.
Vanderbilt started cold, missing 14 of its first 21 shots from the field.
REMEMBERED
Vanderbilt held a moment of silence before the game to honor former Commodore star Perry Wallace, who died Friday. Wallace, 69, became the first black varsity basketball player in the SEC 50 years ago.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State: The Wildcats got their first signature win over a team that made it to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores made an impressive rally in the second half, but couldn’t get important foul shots to fall during the final two minutes.
UP NEXT
Kanas State hosts South Carolina Upstate (3-7) on Tuesday. USC Upstate has lost three straight by double-digit margins.
Vanderbilt hosts Middle Tennessee (5-1) on Wednesday. MTSU’s Nick King posted career highs in points (32) and rebounds (11) in Saturday’s 81-76 win at Florida Gulf Coast.
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