Auburn Basketball Finds Extra Gear Pulling Away From Commodores For Road Victory
![Feb 11, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) backs down Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Nickel (5)] during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4685,h_2635/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/vanderbilt_commodores/01jkvxfj0j1ez12mhedp.jpg "Feb 11, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) backs down Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Nickel (5)] during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images")
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The Vanderbilt Commodores (17-7, 5-6) had a great opportunity at another signature victory in Memorial Gymnasium under first year head coach Mark Byington, but No. 1 Auburn proved to be too much to overcome as the Tigers bounced back from their first conference loss on Saturday by defeating the Commodores 80-66.
Vanderbilt, despite being severely outsized in the post, performed admirably outrebounding the Tigers 37-29 and matching them in the paint a 40 points each, but Auburn was outstanding from beyond the arc, making nine-of-24 from 3-point range.
The Tigers didn't have it easy on Tuesday as Vanderbilt was able to hang tough and clinging to a two-point lead with 14:14 remaining but from there Auburn locked in finishing the game on a 32-19 run to cruise to a comfortable win.
Auburn's Denver Jones led all scorers and paced the Tigers from beyond the arc. Jones scored 21 making five 3-point attempts. Forward Chaney Johnson was too much for the 'Dores to defend on the inside for the Tigers. Johnson socred 20 on nine-of-10 shooting while also pulling down five rebounds.
Vanderbilt's Jason Edwards led the Commodores in scoring but struggled from the floor managing 13 points on five-of-11 shooting. AJ Hoggard and Devin McGlockton were the only other Commodores in double-figures with 10 a piece. The Commodores only made three-of-17 from 3-point range as a team, dooming any hopes at pulling off the upset.
The conference schedule doesn't let up for the Commodores as Vanderbilt returns to action on Saturday by going to Knoxville to take on No. 5 Tennessee at 12 p.m. CT
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Joe Gaither oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt web sites.
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