Aug. 8, 2015
The Black team outlasted the Gold squad, 69-66, Saturday morning in the second annual Alumni Game which pitted former Commodore players that spanned five decades against each other on the vaunted Memorial Gym hardwood. Ronnie McMahon, class of 1995, scored 15 points, all on threes, to lead the Black team to the victory. Jeffery Taylor, class of 2012, added 11 points and Austin Bates, class of 1998, also added 10 points and eight rebounds in the winning effort.
The Alumni game brought out nearly 70 players to Memorial on Saturday and 3,000 fans watched as their favorite Commodore players suited up in the Black and Gold. Seven decades of Vanderbilt players were represented at the event, from Bob Dudley Smith, class of 1952, to recent graduate James Siakam, class of 2015.
The Black team weathered a late Gold flurry to hold on to win the game, 69-66. Shan Foster, class of 2008, and Matt Freije, class of 2004, all had chances to tie the game in the final minute of the game and each had three-point attempts go in and out. Foster, the school’s all-time leading scorer, led all players in the game with 16 points with Rod Odom, class of 2014, and Corey Smith, class of 2005, each contributing double figures for the Gold team with 12 points.
In between action on the floor at the quarter breaks, the alumni that weren’t playing in the event were introduced, and at the half, eight of the school’s top three-point shooters of all time – Foster, Odom, Freije, Billy McCaffrey, Mario Moore, Phil Cox, Drew Maddux, and Barry Booker – competed on teams of two, with Booker and Odom advancing to the finals to face off against Coach Stallings and Dan Cage, the Commodores’ Director of Operations (Class of 2007) and the man who made the Alumni Game happen. Stallings and Cage knocked off Booker and Odom, 27-17, to win the three-point title.
The current 2015-16 team was also introduced, with a highlight video of the team’s off-season training featured on the Memorial Gym video board.
Black Team Stats
Ronnie McMahan – 15 points
Jeffery Taylor – 11 points, 2 rebounds
Austin Bates – 10 points, 8 rebounds
George Drake – 9 points, 3 rebounds
Drew Maddux – 8 points, 5 rebounds
Lance Goulbourne – 7 points, 3 rebounds
Steve Tchiengang – 7 points, 7 rebounds
Joe Duffy – 2 points, 7 rebounds
Phil Cox – 2 points, 1 rebound
Tim Thompson played, but did not register in scoring or rebounding column
Gold Team Stats
Shan Foster – 16 points, 1 rebound
Rod Odom – 12 points, 1 rebound
Corey Smith – 12 points, 3 rebounds
James Siakam – 9 points, 2 rebounds
Jamie Graham – 6 points, 2 rebounds
Kevin Anglin – 5 points, 1 rebound
Matt Freije – 3 points, 5 rebounds
Dan Hall – 3 points, 1 rebound
Scott Hundley – 2 points, 1 rebound
Darshawn McClellan – 0 points, 4 rebounds
Willy Daunic played, but did not register in scoring or rebounding column
