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They say it’s hard to beat a good team three times, but the Vanderbilt Commodores are proving that wrong.
After beating Texas A&M for the third time this season on Thursday night, Vanderbilt did the same thing to the Florida Gators on Friday, winning 72-62 in overtime to improve to 19-14 on the season and likely punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Both teams started slowly in the first half, but Vanderbilt put on a 13-2 run late in the first half to take a 33-28 lead into the break. Vanderbilt seemed to have the game in hand with a 57-49 lead at the final media timeout, but Florida came back with an 8-0 run. In the final minute, Devin Robinson of Florida and Jeff Roberson of Vanderbilt both gave their teams a chance to win the game at the foul line — and both went 1 of 2, sending the game to overtime tied at 58.
In the extra session, though, Vanderbilt couldn’t miss. The Commodores finished the game shooting 11-of-27 from three-point range. Riley LaChance led Vanderbilt with 18 points on 4-of-7 from three-point range; Florida’s backcourt of KeVaughn Allen and Kasey Hill had 16 each.
Vanderbilt will advance to face the winner of Ole Miss and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET. Florida finishes the season at 24-8 and will play in the NCAA Tournament.