FAYETTEVILLE -- Dusty Hannahs summed up the game succinctly.
"It was just one of those train-wreck-type games," Arkansas' senior guard said.
Vanderbilt was the train and Arkansas the wreck as the Commodores led from start to finish and beat the Razorbacks 72-59 in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 8,036.
The Commodores jumped out to a 25-4 lead in the first nine minutes -- resulting in boos from some fans -- and never led by fewer than 12 the rest of the game.
It was sweet revenge for Vanderbilt after Arkansas rallied from a 15-point deficit with less than six minutes left and beat the Commodores 71-70 at Memorial Gym two weeks ago.
"Arkansas got us at our place, and that definitely left a sour taste in our mouth, especially how well we had played up to the last three minutes of that game," Vanderbilt Coach Bryce Drew said. "Starting with our seniors, Nolan [Cressler] and Luke [Kornet], we were really fired up to come back and have a chance to kind of right that wrong that happened a couple of weeks ago for us."
Cressler, a 6-4 guard, led the Commodores with 13 points and had eight rebounds. Kornet, a 7-0 forward, had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Vanderbilt (12-12, 5-6 SEC) had six players score at least eight points, with junior forward Jeff Roberson and junior guard Riley LaChance having 12 each, sophomore guard Joe Toye 11 and guard Payton Willis, a freshman from Fayetteville, 8.
The Commodores didn't miss junior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis, their leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, who didn't make the trip because he violated athletic department and team rules, Drew said.
"I just thought they did it by committee," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.
Vanderbilt's first seven baskets were three-pointers as they started 7 of 9 from behind the arc.
The Razorbacks started 2 of 13 from the field and were 7 of 28 in the first half when the Commodores shot 14 of 25 to take a 39-18 lead.
"I wish I could take credit for it, that we found some great thing and did it," Drew said of his team's hot-shooting start. "But that wasn't really the case.
"Our guys were just moving the ball. We were making the extra pass. A lot of our possessions went deep into the shot clock, and our guys were really patient through the last 8, 7, 6 seconds. We didn't panic and were able to get good looks as the shot clock was going down."
The Commodores hit 10 of 21 three-pointers in the first half and finished 12 of 23 for the game.
"The way that game started out, man, Vanderbilt, they were on fire," Anderson said. "It seemed like we couldn't do anything to slow them down, and it looked like it was going to be a big-time rout.
"But to our guys credit, I thought in the second half we came out and played with a little more fight and a little more defensive awareness to make them uncomfortable."
The Commodores shot 47.6 percent in the second half (10 of 21) to finish at 52.2 percent (24 of 46).
"We allowed them to get going, and we had a lot of missed assignments," Anderson said. "They did a good job of penetrating and making our guys bite, and it just seemed like they didn't miss a shot. They put on a display."
Hannahs said Vanderbilt moved the ball well when the Razorbacks tried to pressure and double-team.
"They were doing a great job of swinging it and hitting open guys," he said. "We didn't adjust well out there on the court. They made us pay for it."
Hannahs led the Razorbacks (17-7, 6-5) with a season-high 24 points and had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He hit 10 of 19 shots, including 3 of 6 three-pointers.
Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley had 11 points and six rebounds. No other Razorback had more than six points.
"I saw some positives from Dusty," Anderson said. "I thought he played lights out on both ends. Offensively, defensively, really did some good things."
Hannahs was asked why the Razorbacks looked so stagnant on offense, especially in the first half.
"I guess it probably looks real stagnant when no one's making shots," Hannahs said. "I guess everyone was missing shots. It was kind of your turn, my turn."
After Willis hit two free throws to put Vanderbilt ahead 54-31 with 12:21 left, Arkansas pulled within 67-55 at the 1:51 mark on Hannahs' driving basket.
Kornet hit 5 of 6 free throws in final 1:50 to clinch the victory.
"I thought we got off to a sensational start," Drew said. "Really moved the ball. Made shots. Defensively, it was one of our better efforts for a 40-minute game."
Arkansas had its season low for points. The previous low was in the Razorbacks' 62-60 victory at Texas A&M.
It was another demoralizing loss for the Razorbacks after Missouri beat them 83-78 on Saturday at Mizzou Arena to end the Tigers' 13-game losing streak.
"It's almost hard to put into words," Hannahs said of his emotions. "It's really disheartening.
"You go to Mizzou against a team that hadn't won a game in conference and blow that one. Then you come into your home court and lose pretty big. It's really tough."
Arkansas is 1-3 in its past four games -- including a 99-71 loss at Oklahoma State and 87-68 victory over Alabama at home -- since winning at Vanderbilt pushed the Razorbacks to 16-4.
"Well, it's unbelievable," Anderson said. "Especially with how we had been playing."
Anderson said losing Fisher-Davis may have given the Commodores extra incentive.
"Sometimes that gives a team an opportunity to bond together," Anderson said. "But we just had no answer for them tonight."
Vanderbilt is 3-1 since losing to Arkansas, including a home victory over Iowa State.
"It was a huge punch to the gut, being at home, giving up that kind of a lead," Cressler said of losing to the Razorbacks. "But I think immediately the next game we kind of corrected the things we did wrong down the stretch and we made progress from there."
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 17-7, 6-5 SEC; Vanderbilt 12-12, 5-6 STARS Vanderbilt senior guard Nolan Cressler (13 points, 8 rebounds), senior forward Luke Kornet (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) and junior forward Jeff Roberson (12 points, 8 rebounds). Arkansas senior guard Dusty Hannahs (24 points, 5 rebounds) TURNING POINT The Commodores jumped out to a 25-4 lead with 10:56 left in the first half. KEY STAT Vanderbilt shot 52.2 percent (24 of 46) from the field. UP NEXT Arkansas plays LSU at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
Sports on 02/08/2017