Commodores Come From Behind, Hold On Late For 71-66 Win

Vanderbilt mens basketball played host to Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Monday night and had to come from behind in the second half, then hold on down the stretch to secure their second win in two games this season.

The Vanderbilt Commodores got off to a slow start Monday night as they played host to Texas A&M Corpus Christi at Memorial Gym. 

The Commodores scored first on a driving layup by Scottie Pippen Jr., but the visiting Islanders answered immediately as Myles Smith connected from long range to give the visitors their first lead of the game. 

The two teams traded baskets and were tied at 11-11 when the Islanders went on an 10-0 run to take a 21-11 advantage into a media timeout. 

The Islanders managed to hold onto the lead throughout the first half dispite a 4:31 second scoring drought where the Commodores could get no closer than 4 points during that time.

The Commodores managedto pull to close the margin to 31-29 with just :16 left in the first half when Aaron Nesmith stepped to the line to shoot two. The sophomore forward missed the front end of the one-and-one allowing TAMUCC to head to the lockerrom leading by two at the intermission. 

For the half, the Commodores shot just 11 of 27 from the floor, good for 40.7% while going just 3 of 12, 25% from long range. The Commodores also struggled from the free-throw stripe, hitting 4 of 8 for 50%. 

Despite the struggles shooting in the first half, the most telling number was 13, the number of times the Commodores turned the ball over in the first half.

Myles Smith of TAMUCC lead all scorers in the first half with 11 while Aaron Nesmith led the Commodores in scoring in the half with 10 points.

The Commodores opened the second half with a basket by Nesmith to tie the game and a Pippen Jr. three gave Vanderbilt their first lead since early in the first half. 

Once again the two teams exchanged baskets with TAMUCC holding a two point advantage when Maththew Moyer knocked down a three from the left wing to give the Commodores the lead. 

A thunderous dunk from Clevon Brown and another three that was banked in by Brown gave the Commodores a 53-50 lead at the under 10 minute timeout. 

The Commodores would not trail again in the game as out of the timeout Saben Lee provided a basket to push the Commodores advantage to five at 55-50. 

 While the first half shooting was a struggle for the Commodores, it improved drastically in the second half, as the team shot 60.0% from the field in the second stanza.

After committing 13 turnovers in the first half, Vanderbilt took better care of the ball in the secondbhalf, committing just 10 second half turnovers. 

Jashawn Talton led all scorers with 23 while Nesmith led the COmmodores with 21 points. 

Lee (15), Brown (12) Pippen Jr. (10) contributed to the win while Moyer added 8 points, but his two three-pointers helped change the tide of the game and gave the Commodores the lead they would bever relinquish. 

Vanderbilt returns to action Thursday night with a trip to RIchmond, Va. to take on the Spider in their first road game of the season.