Stanford 78, Vanderbilt 75

[March 25, 2015]  Stanford 78, Vanderbilt 75: Anthony Brown tallied a season-high 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists as the host Cardinal held off the Commodores to advance to the NIT's Final Four.

Chasson Randle contributed 16 points to move into sole possession of fourth place on the Pac-12 scoring list for Stanford (22-13), which meets Murray State or Old Dominion in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden on March 31. Stefan Nastic had 12 points and seven rebounds as the Cardinal nearly blew a late 11-point lead.

Freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis set season highs with six 3-pointers and 18 points for Vanderbilt (21-14), which fell for only the second time in nine games despite going 12-of-25 beyond the arc. James Siakam scored all 14 of his points in the second half while Luke Kornet added 12 points before leaving in the second half with an apparent concussion.

Brown capped his 17-point first half with a late 3-pointer to send Stanford into the break with a five-point edge and the Cardinal increased the lead to 52-41 following a jumper from Brown and a free throw by Marcus Allen with 12:40 remaining. Kornet and Fisher-Davis each buried a triple as Vanderbilt scored 14 of the next 19 points, closing the gap to 57-55 with just under eight minutes to go.

Nastic answered with the next six points before Randle and Brown knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to help Stanford restore its 11-point margin with 2½ minutes left. The Commodores closed within 77-75 with 32 seconds to go following two triples from Fisher-Davis and seven straight points from Siakam, but Fisher-Davis badly missed a 3-point attempt with seven seconds left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kornet left the game after Brown caught him on the side of the face with an elbow on a layup attempt midway through the second. Kornet left the court with some assistance and did not return. … Randle (2,326 career points) moved past former Stanford star Adam Keefe (2,319) and UCLA legend Lew Alcindor (2,325) and needs 11 more to pass Todd Lichti's school record of 2,336. … The Commodores, who set school records in each of the last two games with 11 blocks against Saint Mary’s and 13 versus South Dakota State, finished with four Tuesday.

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