NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Alex Gordon and Shan Foster both scored 18 points and No. 16 Vanderbilt snapped a two-game losing streak with a 92-76 victory over LSU on Saturday.
The Commodores, coming off losses to Kentucky and No. 6 Tennessee, bounced back by going 9-for-19 from 3-point range and shooting 49.2 percent overall from the field.
Foster, Vanderbilt’s best outside shooter, made only one of 11 3-point attempts Thursday at Tennessee. He hit four of his first five shots from long distance Saturday. Gordon also made four 3s.
Ross Neltner added 16 points for the Commodores (17-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), while Jermaine Beal had 10 points and nine assists.
Marcus Thornton had 27 points for the Tigers (7-11, 0-4) and Anthony Randolph added 14 points and 19 rebounds.
Vanderbilt blew the game open at the start the second half. Foster and Gordon swished two 3-pointers each in the first 3:28, pushing the lead to 57-41.
The Commodores led by no less than 16 points the rest of the way and pushed the lead to 23 with 4:47 remaining on a 3-pointer by Gordon.
Vanderbilt, sixth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage entering the game at 42.3 percent, made eight of its first 14 from long range. LSU was only 4-of-13 for the game.
Beginning at the 9:25 mark of the first half, Vanderbilt reeled off a 20-4 run, turning a 24-23 deficit into a 43-28 lead.
Neltner, A.J. Ogilvy and Gordon scored four points each during the spurt, which gave Vanderbilt the lead for good.
Vanderbilt 92, LSU 76
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008
Memorial Gym, Nashville, Tenn.
LSU Head Coach John Brady
Opening Statement
“Offensively, I thought our team was good enough to win today. I told the team before the game, that if we scored in the 70’s we’d have a chance. We’re very young, and it basically came down to our inexperience versus their experience. They’ve got some veteran guys on that team. I think we got taken advantage of a little bit today.”
On Vanderbilt
“Vanderbilt is very good. It seemed like we had them guarded, and the ball still went in. They force you to play at a certain speed, and we don’t have the maturity to sustain the high level of play for 40 minutes.”
On his team’s effort
“We shoot 55 percent and outrebound them. Those are some positive stats for our team and we have to build on those.”
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening Statement:
“We needed the win. I was afraid that our confidence would be a little bit down. I liked the energy we played with, the aggressiveness and the way we pushed the ball. I thought we played free on offense, and took great care of the ball. That was a nice thing to see. I thought our ability to push the tempo and speed of the game worked out in our favor.”
“I’m proud of the way they played. I thought Ross (Neltner) was terrific and Red (Alex Gordon) was very good and had a lot of balance. Then, you look down and Jermaine has nine assists and no turnovers. That’s pretty good for a point guard.”
Coming into the game off road losses at Kentucky and Tennessee
“We knew we hadn’t played up to our standard (in previous two games) and got beat. That’s what should happen when you go on the road and play good teams in tough environments. It was important to come out today and reestablish who we are and who we want to be.”
“This was a critical game for us, without question. By and large, I thought our players played like it.”
Play of senior forward Ross Neltner (16 points, five rebounds)
“Ross was really good. He picked his spots, took the ball to the basket when he needed to, and took the (outside) shot when he should. He is a very steadying influence on our team and he’s one of our toughest guys. We knew he was going to bounce back. Fortunately, he did that today.
“Ross is completely a team guy, but maybe he just got a little distracted or maybe he just had two bad games. He’s entitled. He’s a really important player to us and we know he will be there when we need them.”
Talk about the upcoming eight-day layoff for the Commodores
“I think it will be good for us. We have some modifications that we need to make, and we need some time to deal with some things. With just two days (of practice between games), it’s hard to make any significant changes. Hopefully, we’ll have some time to maybe tweak some things to our benefit.”
“I thought we played with good energy. We have enough depth that we should be able to stay fresh as the season continues. We wanted to push the tempo and get people involved. It was important that, in the event that it was a close game in the final five or six minutes, that we had pushed the ball for the first 35 minutes in an effort to wear them down.”