Last-second shot sinks Vandy in NCAA upset
By Bud L. Ellis
The season ended with 24 wins and plenty of highlights. But for the Vanderbilt Commodores, the striking moment from the 2009-10 season likely will be the one that ended their NCAA Tournament dreams.
Danero Thomas’ buzzer-beating jumper pushed Murray State into the hall of Cinderella, and shoved the Commodores from the NCAA Tournament on Thursday with a 66-65 loss in the West Regional at San Jose, Calif.
For the second time in as many seasons, the fourth seed was not kind to Vandy (24-9). Last year, it was Siena pulling off the upset of the Commodores.
In what was a tight game throughout, the Commodores looked as if they might slip out of HP Pavilion with a narrow victory. Jermaine Beal sank two free throws with 12.7 seconds left to make it 65-64 Vandy. Murray State missed a shot at the other end, but the Commodores could not grab the rebound and it went out of bounds to the Racers with 4.2 seconds left.
John Jenkins led Vandy with 13 points.
—30—
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 8:45 pm by bud
Tags: Danero Thomas, HP Pavilion, Jermaine Beal, John Jenkins, Murray State, NCAA Tournament, Vanderbilt Commodores