Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (1-0) kicked off the 2024-25 college basketball season on Monday evening as it welcomed Maryland Eastern Shore (0-1) into Memorial Gymnasium. The game was all Vanderbilt, all night, as the Black and Gold cruised to a 102-63 victory over the Hawks. Jason Edwards, Tyler Nickel, MJ Collins, Grant Huffman and Devin McGlockton earned the start for the Commodores, as Jaylen Carey — the preseason projected center — came off the bench.

It was a stellar offensive performance for a team filled with so many newcomers, but head coach Mark Byington knows his team can soar even higher.

“So much is still unknown,” Byington said. “I’m still learning them and the lineups and different things that are going to go on. We’re going to learn along the way… We better [become] a great team, and we’re not there yet, but I hope you see the build along the way.”

The Hawks got to work early, winning the tip as Christopher Flippin went right to the paint and scored over McGlockton. Edwards came back with a vengeance, nailing a triple for his first points as a Commodore. Nickel followed suit soon after, finding space in the paint and absorbing contact to get to the free-throw line. The Virginia Tech transfer connected on both attempts to give Vanderbilt an early 5-2 lead.

McGlockton electrified the home crowd with a block on defense. Back-to-back offensive possessions saw Nickel connect on a step-back jumper, and Carey — who had just checked in off the bench — dazzle the student section with a crafty spin move in the paint. Vanderbilt entered the first television timeout of the game with a 9-3 lead. 

Edwards continued to make his mark on the game, as he drove to the right on two straight possessions for layups as the Commodores forced consecutive turnovers on defense. Carey kept up his paint domination with a floater through the lane, but KC Shaw refused to go away, connecting on a tough layup to bring the deficit down to eight points. 

McGlockton got on the board soon after, as the Boston College transfer outworked the Hawks in the paint for an offensive rebound and a layup soon after. He kept it going on the following possession with a midrange jumper from the right wing. A missed jumper from KC Shaw put Vanderbilt into a fast break as Carey drew contact in the paint, but he couldn’t connect on either free throw. Collins committed a foul to send KC Shaw to the line as the Commodores entered the 12-minute break with a 19-7 lead. 

KC Shaw connected on one-of-two free throw attempts as both sides traded misses before Carey found a cutting McGlockton along the right baseline for the first Vanderbilt dunk of the season to the home crowd’s cheers. Kyrell Shaw and Jaylen Ware got the Hawks back in a groove with back-to-back midrange jumpers.

From there, the ‘Dores took over. Edwards used a quick first step after a McGlockton offensive rebound and found JQ Roberts — one of only two returners from last year’s team — for his first points of the season. McGlockton continued to dominate inside, absorbing contact and finishing a layup attempt, plus the foul. He missed the free throw, but Roberts found another offensive rebound and dished it out to a wide-open Nickel for a 3-pointer. Shaw converted on a triple of his own, but Nickel was not to be one-upped, nailing another shot from beyond the arc. The shot put him up to 10 points on the day, making him the first Commodore to enter the double-digit mark on the season. 

It started raining triples in Memorial Gymnasium, as first-year Tyler Tanner found himself unmarked at the top of the key for his first collegiate bucket. He continued making his mark on the game with a steal on defense and a slam on the other end. Ralph Martino Jr. finally halted the Commodores’ momentum with a three from the left corner to cut the deficit to 15 before the Hawks forced a miss, and KC Shaw connected on yet another midrange jumper. The shot put the Mooresville, North Carolina, native to 10 points on the day. 

Carey once again absorbed contact in the paint to get himself to the charity stripe before the first half’s final media timeout, as the scoreboard showed 38-25. The JMU transfer once again missed both free throws, putting him at 0-for-4 from the stripe on the day. The Hawks kept knocking as Cardell Bailey cut the deficit to 11 with a fast-break dunk. 

Carey’s dominance in the painted area continued as the sophomore used fundamental footwork to get open for another layup for his seventh point of the game. Chris Manon soon found space in the lane before a foul kept him from scoring, but he connected on both free throws for his first points on West End. KC Shaw wouldn’t go away, though, using a behind-the-back shimmy to make space from just outside of the paint before nailing a transition layup on the next possession to bring the Commodores’ lead back to 10.

Byington took a timeout before his final possession of the half as his group settled in, with McGlockton getting to the line for two free throws. The first frame ended with the Black and Gold leading 45-33. McGlockton and Carey — who both had three offensive rebounds — contributed to the Commodores’ 12 second-chance points. The forward pair also added 10 and 7 points, respectively. Nickel (10) and Edwards (7) rounded out the team’s leading scorers from the first half. 

Vanderbilt started with the ball in the second half, and Edwards wasted little time using his explosive first-step to draw a foul and convert on both free throws. Shaw came right back with two free throws of his own to keep Maryland Eastern Shore within 12. A McGlockton dunk and Carey and-1 kept the Hawks at bay before Edwards connected on his second 3-pointer of the game. 

Edwards and McGlockton connected during a fast break to lift the Commodores’ lead back near 20, as the scoreboard showed 56-37 during the first media timeout of the second period. Huffman — following a steal — came up hobbled after getting fouled during a fast break, and Byington took his second timeout of the game to give him a chance to recover. The Davidson transfer stayed in the game and went 1-for-2 on free throw attempts.

Manon made his first field goal of the game on an easy layup from in front of the rim, giving Vanderbilt a 20-point lead, tied for its largest of the game. McGlockton built on that lead after nabbing two more offensive rebounds — his fifth and sixth of the night — and converting the ensuing layup and free-throw attempts. 

The former Golden Eagle became the first ‘Dore to eclipse the 20-point mark this season as he made his eighth field goal (on eight attempts) to bring Vanderbilt’s lead to 23 points. KC Shaw came back with an and-1 finish of his own, but Vanderbilt quelled any concerns of a comeback thanks to a Collins triple, McGlockton dunk and Tanner steal and layup.

McGlockton sent Memorial Gymnasium into a frenzy with a block on Vanderbilt’s next defensive possession before Manon split two defenders and soared in for a finger roll layup. With just under 10 minutes remaining, the Commodores’ lead had grown to 29 points. A quick 5-0 run from the Hawks ended Vanderbilt’s momentum briefly, but Edwards’ third deep ball of the game ended the swing. 

Edwards produced one of the game’s highlights when he soared into the paint and absorbed contact for a finish, plus the foul, to reach 17 points on the day. Huffman found Carey in the pick-and-roll for a ferocious slam as the ‘Dores continued to pull away. Edwards poured in two more points as the lead ballooned to 35, and Vanderbilt’s reserves checked in. Roberts fired up the crowd one last time as he turned a pass from Coleson Messer into a slam. The sophomore connected on a handful of free throws for the rest of the game as the ‘Dores eclipsed 100 points in the final minute. 

McGlockton’s 24 points and 13 rebounds — which both led all Vanderbilt players — and Carey’s 13 points and 10 rebounds guided Vanderbilt to victory on Monday evening.  With no timeline for Kijani Wright’s return, the duo’s contributions will become even more critical. If the first game of the Byington tenure is any indication of what Vanderbilt is capable of, then fans will have much to look forward to. 

McGlockton’s performance, which saw him convert all 10 of his field goal attempts, broke Vanderbilt’s program record for a single-game field goal percentage.

“I pride myself on being efficient,” McGlockton said postgame.

It was an offensive masterclass for Vanderbilt, as it coasted to a 102-63 victory off the back of 16 offensive rebounds and 48 points in the paint. The Commodores’ 102 points, despite a 24% conversion rate from downtown, marked the most they’ve scored in a game since December of 2018 against Eastern Tennessee State. 

“We are not going to have bad shooting nights often but when we do we will find other ways to fill it up,” Edwards said postgame. “That’s what makes us dangerous.”

Byington echoed similar thoughts.

“We’re going to have high-scoring nights where we play fast,” Byington said. “There’s [also] going to be some nights where we’ve got to win in different ways.”

The Black and Gold will return to Memorial Gymnasium to take on Southeast Missouri on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. CST.