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Arkansas takes down No. 25 Vanderbilt

Feb 1, 2012 - 8:13 AM Fayetteville, AR (Sports Network) - Rickey Scott scored 18 and Julysses Nobles had 17, as Arkansas downed No. 25 Vanderbilt, 82-74, on Tuesday.

B.J. Young added 12 points while Mardracus Wade and Rashad Madden both had 10 for the Razorbacks (16-6, 4-3 SEC). They improved to 16-0 at Bud Walton Arena this season.

"I thought this team grew up tonight," said Arkansas coach Mike Anderson. "I thought we grew up in a lot of areas. Just from the standpoint of how hard you have to play [and] playing together."

John Jenkins scored 19 points for the Commodores (16-6, 5-2), who had won 10 of 11 entering Tuesday. Jeffery Taylor added 18, Festus Ezeli had 14 and Steve Tchiengang finished with 10.

The Razorbacks led 25-18 midway through the first before Vanderbilt reeled off 11 straight, highlighted by seven in a row from Ezeli, to go ahead. The Commodores were up 34-30 seconds before the break when Scott finished in close to make it a two-point game.

Another Scott layup put Arkansas on top early in the second half. Wade and Jenkins then traded threes before Scott buried two in a row from beyond the arc, re-establishing the seven-point edge that the Razorbacks had squandered in the early going.

Momentum in hand, Arkansas continued to extend its advantage. Young got into the act with a trey, stretching the margin to double-digits and Hunter Mickelson rose from the bench to provide a spark, making it 71-57 with a slam in the paint and a put-back on consecutive possessions.

The Commodores briefly threatened down the stretch. Taylor's three-point play made it 72-65 with under two minutes remaining and Jenkins pulled his team within six, hitting a fadeaway three with 50 seconds to play. But the Razorbacks made 6-of-8 free throws the rest of the way to remain perfect at home.

In all, Arkansas made 9-of-23 three-pointers.

"If there's a half you want to win [it's] that second half and I thought it couldn't go any better for our basketball team," said Anderson.

Game Notes

Arkansas became just the second team in program history to go 16-0 at Bud Walton Arena and just the third team since 1985-86 to win 16 home games...Arkansas leads the all-time series, 17-9.