Memphis basketball hangs on to beat Vanderbilt. Five takeaways from fifth straight win

Caleb Mills came up with the steal for Memphis basketball.

He, Jahvon Quinerly and Malcolm Dandridge fanned out to take advantage of a 3-on-1 fast break against Vanderbilt. Mills left his feet and delivered a strike to a streaking Dandridge, who pounded the ball through the hoop.

The crowd at FedExForum erupted, and the 23rd-ranked Tigers (10-2) pulled away to win Saturday 77-75.

Dandridge's dunk was the exclamation point on an otherwise messy outing for Memphis, which has won five straight games. It came amid a 12-0 run that began with the Tigers trailing 62-54 with less than eight minutes left.

David Jones maintained his torrid pace, scoring 28 points. It was his sixth straight game with 20 or more points.

Vanderbilt (4-8) put a scare into Memphis, leading for more than 20 minutes and holding a narrow one-point advantage with 5:37 remaining. But the Tigers got enough buckets down the stretch and enough key stops to survive.

The last critical stop came at the end of the game when Vanderbilt's Ezra Manjon attempted a would-be game-winner as time expired. But it clanked off the front of the rim.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

Free throws give Tigers an edge

In a tight game, free throws (and getting to the free-throw line) were as important as anything else.

Memphis made 26 free throws on 35 attempts. Vanderbilt connected on 17 free throws on 22 attempts.

Ezra Manjon gives Tigers trouble

Smaller guards have made life difficult for Memphis this season.

Jackson State's Chase Adams (listed at 5-foot-8) put up 16 points (on 8-of-14 shooting) in the season opener, which the Tigers won. Michigan's Dug McDaniel (listed at 5-11) put up 13 points at the Battle 4 Atlantis. In their loss at Ole Miss, Jaylen Murray (listed at 5-11) dropped 22 (on 7 of 14 from the field).

The 6-0 Manjon gave Memphis fits. He finished with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Nae'Qwan Tomlin makes much anticipated Memphis debut

Nae'Qwan Tomlin, the Tigers' early Christmas present, needed all of 4 seconds to endear himself to Memphis fans everywhere.

The 6-10 midseason Kansas State transfer entered Saturday's game with 16:27 left in the first half to an uproar of applause. Four seconds later, the ball found Tomlin, who lofted a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net.

He finished with eight points and three rebounds.

Nicholas Jourdain provides a spark

The Tigers were down 36-35 at halftime and in need of a jolt.

Nicholas Jourdain gave it to them. The Temple transfer scored seven points in the first 2:17 of the second half, helping give Memphis a 44-36 lead.

Jourdain fouled out late in the game, finishing with nine points, four rebounds and two steals.

Staying in the game early

When a team makes just three 2-point field goals in a half, you might expect the halftime deficit to be greater than 36-35.

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But the Tigers' work beyond the arc and at the free-throw line helped account for their shortcomings elsewhere. They had six 3-pointers (one each for Jones, Quinerly, Tomlin, Mills, Jourdain and Jayden Hardaway).

They also made the most of their frequent trips to the free-throw line, going 11-for-14 in the half. Vanderbilt was just 2-for-5.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: David Jones scores 28 as Memphis basketball fends off Vanderbilt