Vanderbilt’s Men’s Basketball returned to Memorial Gymnasium after winning last week’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. The Commodores cruised to an 88-69 victory over SMU, improving their record to 9-0. Vanderbilt has yet to score under 80 points as its offense continues to dominate this season.
Vanderbilt fans packed Memorial Gymnasium as the Commodores took on their toughest home matchup yet. Tyler Tanner took control of the offense, recording a season-high 26 points, more than doubling the points of Vanderbilt’s second leading scorer. Tanner’s dominance followed a three-game tournament where Duke Miles was the leading scorer.
Miles, Tanner, Tyler Nickel, AK Okereke and Devin McGlockton earned the start as head coach Mark Byington stuck with the lineup that has fueled the team’s win-streak. Tanner, Nickel, McGlockton and Miles all ended the game in double figures.
“You can just feel the energy in there”, Byington said postgame of the atmosphere. “The excitement in there, and my thing with the crowd is [that] they’re a part of this.”
First half
SMU won the tip, and center Samet Yigitoglu immediately capitalized with a layup less than 15 seconds into the contest. Vanderbilt trailed 4-0 following a basket from Jaron Pierre Jr, but McGlockton quickly responded with a layup off a strong setup from Okereke. A steal by Nickel led Duke Miles to throw down a dunk at the other end, evening the score at 4-apiece. Okereke buried a mid-range jumper, tying the game at 6 with 17:55 left in the half. That marked the final lead change of the game. Memorial Gymnasium erupted as Nickel nailed a deep 3-pointer, giving the Commodores a 9-6 lead at the 17:06 mark. McGlockton drained a 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key for his third basket in under five minutes. SMU head coach Andy Enfield signaled for the first timeout of the contest with Vanderbilt in front, 14-8.
Jalen Washington and Frankie Collins checked in for Tanner and Okereke when play resumed. Yigitoglu nailed his third basket, cutting the Commodores’ lead to two points at 14:47. Duke Miles recorded a steal and passed it to Tanner, who hammered it down at the other end. The crowd exploded as Yigitoglu missed a shot at the other end. Washington scored his fifth and sixth points in the contest with a layup off an Okereke assist at 12:05. Tanner forced a jump ball at 10:47 as the second stoppage ensued with Vanderbilt leading, 24-16.
Memorial Gymnasium roared as Tyler Tanner knocked down a 3-pointer as the Commodores remained in control, 27-18. Enfield’s team scored six straight points, tightening the Commodore advantage to just 3 as a media timeout unfolded at 7:41. Tanner and Miles scored back-to-back layups to widen the margin to seven, bringing the crowd back to life. Consecutive jumpers from SMU’s B.J. Davis Ray and Jaron Pierre. Jr. narrowed Vanderbilt’s edge to five. Freshman Chandler Bing recorded his first points of the game at 4:07, increasing the lead to 37-30. Jaden Toombs quickly responded at the other end with a jumper before a timeout stopped the clock at 3:20.
Washington, who was off to a hot start with 6 points in 10 minutes, then went down holding his left ankle at the 2:15 mark. Harris subbed in for an injured Washington as Vanderbilt maintained a 42-34 lead. Byington elected to use a timeout following a long floater from Harris at 1:06, with Vanderbilt leading 46-38. Miles slowed down the temp as the clock hit two digits with a left-handed layup, finishing the half strong for the Black and Gold. Byington’s squad entered the locker room with their largest lead of the night so far, 48-38.
The Commodores finished the first 20 minutes of the game shooting 62% from the field and 31% from deep. Tanner, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, led all scoring with 14 points with McGlockton close behind him with 11.
Second Half
Tyler Nickel scored the first points of the second half as he drilled a corner 3-pointer off a McGlockton assist. Pierre Jr. connected from deep, though, trimming the gap back down to 10 with 18:04 left in the game. McGlockton extended the lead to 57-45 off a powerful layup in the paint, assisted once again by Okereke. The two big men appear to have developed solid on-court chemistry, linking up for several baskets. Washington returned to the contest at 16:15; his injury didn’t appear to affect his second-half performance. SMU scored their fourth straight point as the first timeout of the half ensued at 14:58 with Vanderbilt leading, 57-51.
Tanner wasted no time after the timeout, aggressively converting a contested layup which ignited Vanderbilt’s student section. SMU ended their slump as Pierre Jr. scored the Mustangs’ first points of the half at 12:43. Washington posted his first points of the half, extending the Dores’ advantage to 65-53 before a TV Timeout stopped the clock at 11:37.
The crowd reached its loudest point so far as Washington blocked an attempted dunk from Yigitoglu which turned into a slam for Harris at the other end. Washington was whistled for his fourth foul as Vanderbilt remained on top, 69-57. Tyler Nickel and Yigitoglu exchanged baskets, bringing the score to 71-59. Washington returned to the bench, earning loud praise from an energetic crowd at Memorial Gymnasium. A shot-clock violation by SMU resulted in a media timeout as Vanderbilt held its strongest lead at 14 points.
Tanner scored four more points directly out of the timeout, boosting his total to 24 points. Okereke then drilled a 3-pointer off an assist from Collins, causing Enfield to use a timeout down 16 with 5:40 remaining. Tanner continued his dominance with a powerful slam that extended the lead to 19. The 6’2 sophomore achieved a season-high 26 points in 34 minutes with a little over 4 minutes left in the contest. The final media-timeout arrived at 3:42 with Vanderbilt retaining a comfortable 82-64 lead.
The Commodores cruised the rest of the way as SMU scored just four points after the timeout. Byington took out his starters with 0:49 as Vanderbilt controlled the contest with an 88-67 lead. The Black and Gold earned a standing ovation from the crowd as the buzzer sounded.
Vanderbilt will square off against Central Arkansas in Memorial Gymnasium on Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. CST.
