Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (4-0) continued its season against Jackson State (0-4) in Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 16. The matchup came after Vanderbilt defeated Cal on Nov. 12. The Commodores dominated all game and took down the Tigers 94-81.
The Commodores fixed their 3-point shooting woes from the first few games of the year, as they went a season-best 16-of-38 from downtown. Edwards headlined the team’s performance, as he dropped 16 points to get Vanderbilt its fourth win of the season. Head coach Mark Byington spoke on the team’s improved numbers from 3-point range after the game.
“We’ve won in different ways so far. The first three games we hadn’t shot the ball well,” Byington said. “I thought we really shared the ball [today] and played the right way.”
First half
Jason Edwards, Grant Huffman, AJ Hoggard, Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton earned the start for Vanderbilt. Hoggard got things started for Vanderbilt, cashing in a corner three to put the Commodores ahead 3-0 on their first possession. A shot clock violation on the Tigers gave Vanderbilt the ball right back as Hoggard hit yet another shot from deep. Vanderbilt attacked on both the offensive and defensive end, as a feed to McGlockton down low set up an easy bucket for the big man. At the first media timeout, Vanderbilt led 11-2 with 16:00 left in the half.
Jackson State attacked the paint out of the timeout, drawing back-to-back shooting fouls, but both players went 1-for-2 from the line, keeping the Tigers at bay and down by 11. Jackon State pressed the issue with more free throws and a pair of turnovers, as Dylan Canoville’s steal at the 14:39 mark and ensuing layup shrunk Vanderbilt’s lead to three. Another turnover by MJ Collins made for an easy dunk by Jayme Mitchell as the Commodores led 11-10 with 14:27 remaining in the half.
The Commodores stopped the bleeding as McGlockton cashed in a 3-pointer, but Mitchell hit a deep ball of his own right after. Back-to-back successful possessions by both teams kept the game tight, but two missed free throws by Jaylen Carey left Vanderbilt up only 18-17 with 11:58 left as the second media timeout finally hit. A fast break by Huffman out of the break ignited Vanderbilt’s offense as Tyler Tanner and Edwards hit consecutive shots from beyond the arc, expanding the Commodores’ lead to 29-17 with 9:41 left in the half.
Back-to-back fouls by Huffman and Hoggard sent Jackson State to the line for more foul shots, but the Tigers’ free throw shooting woes continued as they went a cumulative 2-of-4. A driving layup by Edwards put the Commodores up by six with 7:24 remaining in the half and two made free throws by Carey expanded Vanderbilt’s lead further. Nickel hit a corner three after forcing a turnover and Edwards backed this up with a deep ball of his own to grow Vanderbilt’s lead to 43-31 with 2:59 as the final media timeout of the half arrived.
Jackson State’s Marcus Watson hit a three out of the break, but Collins cashed in a floater and a layup to put the Commodores up 13 with less than two minutes left in the half. Three made free throws and a driving layup by Hoggard ended the half for Vanderbilt as they led 52-36.
The Commodores were very productive in the first half, shooting 53% from the field and 9-of-19 from beyond the arc. Byington spoke about his team’s shot selection in his postgame press conference.
“We made strides. We are shooting the right [threes],” Byington said. “The results showed [that].”
Second half
Nickel got things started for Vanderbilt in the second half as he drove into the paint and scored an easy bucket. An easy layup by McGlockton and back-to-back threes from Nickel put the Commodores up 62-39 with 17:35 remaining in the game. A quick jumper by Jackson State’s Romelle Mansel stopped the bleeding as Vanderbilt refused to take its foot off the gas. Four made free throws by Shannon Grant and Dorian McMillian narrowed the lead to 62-45 with 15:52 left in the half.
The crowd erupted as Carey hit a massive dunk to give Vanderbilt a 19-point lead. McGlockton followed this up with a deep ball and Tanner hit one of his own just seconds later to cap off a 6-0 run. Two made free throws by Huffman pushed the lead to 74-49 with 10:27 left to play. McMillian then scored a quick six points after connecting on a 3-pointer and before finishing a driving layup with contact.
Both teams forced ensuing empty possessions until Mansel was fouled with 8:24 left in the game. He made both, shrinking Vanderbilt’s lead to 77-57 as the third media timeout loomed. A huge dunk by Chris Manon ignited the home crowd before Hoggard cashed in a quick 3-pointer to capitalize on the momentum. Two back-to-back buckets by Edwards put the Commodores ahead 86-66 with just under five minutes left in the game.
A 3-pointer by Manon represented the final nail in the coffin as the Commodores pulled ahead by 23 points. Manon then threw down a nasty putback dunk to finish the Tigers off as Byington opted to put in his backups with a minute left. The Commodores slowly dribbled out the ball to end the game and earned their fourth win of the season.
A highly efficient shooting night — in which the Commodores shot over 50% from the field — was more than enough to take down the Tigers. Vanderbilt will gear up for its toughest test of the young season when it travels to South Carolina to compete in the Charleston Classic.
“The Charleston [Classic] is really good,” Byington said. “Our opening match against Nevada — I just peeked at them for a little bit. [Nevada] is an NCAA Tournament team.”
Vanderbilt will return to action on Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. CST as it takes on Nevada in the opening round of the Charleston Classic.
