A late surge was not enough to overcome a 15-point second-half lead, as WKU men’s basketball fell to No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores 83-78 Wednesday. 

The Commodores were hot coming out of halftime, jumping out to a 52-42 lead with 12 minutes to play. Vanderbilt would hold a double-digit lead over the Hilltoppers until a jumper from redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore cut it to eight at the three-minute mark.

A three from Freshman guard Armelo Boone, as WKU faced a 15-point deficit with 6:23 left to play, set the Hilltopper offense off to the races, outscoring Vanderbilt 28-18 in the final six minutes.

“We battled, we competed and we fought,” said Head Coach Hank Plona. “We did some good things, and there are some areas we can improve.”

The Hilltopper defense complemented the offense in the final stretches, holding the Commodores to zero field goals in the final two minutes.

Late heroics aside, however, WKU couldn’t tie the game in the final minute, cutting the lead to three with just four seconds on the clock before Vanderbilt hit game-sealing free throws.

Redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore and senior guard Cam Haffner led WKU. Moore led the Hilltoppers with 24 points and seven rebounds. Haffner contributed 18 points, shooting 5-10 from beyond the arc.

WKU outrebounded Vanderbilt 42-37 but struggled to take advantage of opportunities, shooting just 23-62 from the floor. Both teams gave up 17 turnovers, resulting in 13 points for the Hilltoppers but just six for the Commodores.

Grant Newell, the Hilltoppers’ second leading scorer, went down with a rolled ankle with 8:04 left in the first half. He did not return for the rest of the game, giving Vanderbilt some momentum, extending their lead 40-30 after he went down.

The Hilltopper bench, which has been a factor all season, netted 26 points for WKU against Vanderbilt. Boone had 16 of those 26.

WKU will take on the loser of VCU versus USF tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2.