NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyrin Lawrence recorded a team-high 22 points while Jordan Wright finished with a double-double Thursday night to help lift Vanderbilt men’s basketball to a 77-68 victory over LSU in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.
Lawrence hit 6 of 7 shots from the field and was 9 of 11 at the foul line, adding five rebounds for the Commodores (19-13). Wright ended up with 15 points and a career-best 15 rebounds, with Vandy also getting 17 points from Ezra Manjon. Paul Lewis contributed a career-high 11 points and Colin Smith added seven off the bench for Vandy.
The Commodores will now take on Kentucky, the third seed, Friday at 8 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
KJ Williams paced the Tigers (14-19) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Trae Hannibal had a double-double as well after recording 13 and 13, respectively. Cam Hayes finished with 16 points for LSU, which shot just 33 percent from the field.
Up four eight minutes into the contest, Lewis sparked a 15-5 run with a 3-pointer that saw the Dores extend the lead to 28-14 with less than eight minutes remaining before the break. Lawrence contributed two driving layups and a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the way to scoring 13 first-half points.
The Tigers drew as close as one in the opening minutes after halftime, but Manjon answered with a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer from the corner as Vanderbilt would lead by double figures most of the rest of the game.
