Three days after its 92-62 win over Eastern Kentucky, Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (4-0, 0-0) faced Arkansas Pine Bluff (0-5, 0-0) in Memorial Gym. The Commodores cruised to a 104-75 victory, highlighted by a whopping 19 offensive rebounds — six of which came from Devin McGlockton. 

“[Arkansas Pine Bluff] is a tough team. I would not be surprised if you see them in the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Mark Byington said. “We didn’t play our best, but at the same time, I thought we stayed the course, and there wasn’t a panic.”

First half 

Vanderbilt secured the tipoff, and AK Okereke put the Commodores on the board with a driving layup. Tyler Tanner then grabbed a missed shot from Quion Williams, and Tyler Nickel nailed a 3-pointer to quickly force Arkansas Pine Bluff’s first timeout of the half. Trevon Payton scored the Golden Lions’ first points of the outing on a physical layup, but McGlockton responded with a jumper of his own. Two more layups from McGlockton gave the Black and Gold a 13-7 advantage heading into the first media timeout of the half.  

Jalen Washington converted a layup through contact to break the timeout, and Milhan Charles countered with an emphatic dunk on the other end. A shot-clock violation from the Commodores resulted in a three-point play from Williams to pull the Golden Lions within one. Nickel scored his second three-pointer of the game and was fouled on an ensuing layup to create the half’s second media timeout. 

Nickel, Duke Miles and Okereke each went 1-for-2 on consecutive trips to the charity stripe to extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 21-14. A pair of unanswered buckets from Jaquan Scott and Charles cut the Golden Lions’ deficit to two, but McGlockton responded with his team-leading fourth field goal of the half. Tyler Harris then capitalized on a pair of missed free throws from Charles with a deep three from the right wing, and Miles followed suit with a three of his own. The Commodores lead 29-21 with 6:36 remaining in the first half. 

Miles broke the half’s third media timeout with a tough fadeaway bucket, and Okereke drilled two free throws to give the Black and Gold a 33-21 cushion. The squads exchanged free-throw trips, and McGlockton banged through his fifth offensive rebound of the half to give the Commodores a 37-23 lead heading into a final media timeout. 

Chandler Bing and Tanner tipped in missed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, highlighting Vanderbilt’s dominance on the glass all afternoon. A block from Bing then produced a fast-break layup from Tanner, and Payton countered with a deep ball. Strong defense from Nickel stifled the Golden Lions’ last scoring opportunity of the half, and Vanderbilt headed to the locker room with a 43-31 lead. 

Second half 

Tanner opened the second half with a reverse layup, and Alex Mirhosseini responded with a deep 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Miles then drilled a running floater, and McGlockton converted defense to offense with a block and subsequent three. Payton and Nickel traded threes, and Miles scored five points in two possessions to push Vanderbilt’s lead to 60-38. 

Bing broke the first media timeout of the half with another tip-in layup. The freshman then doubled down with a reverse, and-one layup through traffic, eliciting a roar from Commodore fans throughout Memorial Gym. A series of productive offensive possessions brought the Golden Lions within 19 heading into another media timeout. 

With momentum in favor of the Golden Lions, Williams notched a pair of free throws, and Payton and Jai’chaunn Hayes drilled two threes to cut Vanderbilt’s lead to 13. Tanner and Miles then combined for six unanswered points to stop the Black and Gold’s momentary bleeding and force a media timeout. 

Following consecutive Williams buckets, McGlockton hit a layup for his eighth field goal on just 10 attempts, marking a highly efficient afternoon for the Georgia native. The Black and Gold entered a third media timeout up 80-62. 

Miles buried a driving layup, Harris sank a three and Okereke scored on the fast break to quickly extend Vanderbilt’s lead to 25. A corner three from Okereke capped off a 10-point scoring run for the Black and Gold, forcing a Golden Lion timeout. 

Payton ended the Golden Lions’ scoring drought with a 3-pointer, but Harris promptly responded with his third deep ball of the outing. Vanderbilt led by 30 with 3:07 remaining in regulation. 

Mike James brought the Commodores’ point total to 99 following a strong layup, and Washington downed a pair of free throws to extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 101-68. The buzzer sounded shortly afterward, capping off Vanderbilt’s 104-75 win. 

Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball will seek its fifth-straight win to start the season when it hosts Texas Southern on Nov. 20 at 6:00 p.m. CST.