NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Commodores welcomed Division II side Clark Atlanta for a season-opening exhibition at historic Memorial Gymnasium in the first chance for the Vanderbilt faithful to see new head coach, Jerry Stackhouse. They were treated to a resounding 95-55 Commodore victory.
Saben Lee and Aaron Nesmith led the Commodores in scoring, with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Scotty Pippen Jr, a true freshman, made an impressive Memorial Gymnasium debut, contributing 15 points and three rebounds. Redshirt junior Matthew Moyer paced Vanderbilt with five rebounds. Five Commodores scored in double figures and nearly every player etched their name onto the scoresheet.
Vanderbilt quickly fell behind by a point early on, but a Maxwell Evans layup gave Commodores a lead that they would not relinquish. The Commodores concluded the first half on a 15-3 scoring run, which led to a 45-26 advantage at the intermission.
Following the break, Vanderbilt picked up where they left off and started out the second half with a suffocating 17-4 scoring run.
The win was a total team effort – of the 95 points scored, 39 came from the non-starting Commodores. Vanderbilt also had 50 points in the paint and 17 steals.
The Commodores will host Southeast Missouri State this Wednesday at Memorial Gymnasium to open their regular season. The game can be seen on SEC Network+ and will tip off at 7 p.m.
