Mark, Johnson score 19 each and Texas holds off Vanderbilt rally in 79-72 SEC Tournament win

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — Tramon Mark and Tre Johnson scored 19 points each and 13th-seeded Texas defeated No. 12-seed Vanderbilt 79-72 in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday.

Texas, in its first SEC Tournament, will play No. 5 seed Texas A&M in the second round on Thursday.

Texas led by 15 points at halftime and by 15 points again with 4 1/2 minutes to go before Tyler Nickel made a pair of free throws and Devin McGlockton's layup got Vanderbilt within 70-59.

The Longhorns’ next possessions included a failed one-and-one opportunity and two 3-point misses while the Commodores trimmed their deficit to 72-65 with 1:34 remaining. Vanderbilt got within seven points three more times, but the Longhorns closed out the win with seven made free throws in eight attempts.

Jordan Pope scored 14 points and was 5-for-5 on free throws for Texas (18-14) and Arthur Kaluma scored 11 points, all in the first half. Mark made 9 of 11 free throws and the Longhorns were 25 for 34 from the line.

Jason Edwards scored 20 points, Nickel 14 and Chris Manon 12 for Vanderbilt (20-12). McGlockton had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Texas shot 48% and scored 22 points in the paint in the first half on the way to a 41-26 halftime lead. The Longhorns had an early 12-0 run and Kaluma scored five points in a 12-3 run that led to a 39-22 lead.

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