NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyler Nickel and AK Okereke recorded 25 and 23 points, respectively, on Saturday afternoon to help No. 19 Vanderbilt men’s basketball earn an 82-69 SEC win over Texas A&M at Memorial Gymnasium.
Devin McGlockton contributed 17 points and eight rebounds, and Chandler Bing posted 11 points and six boards as the Commodores improved to 21-4 overall and 8-4 in the SEC.
It was the most points that Nickel has scored in an SEC contest, with his take down the lane leading to an uncontested dunk followed by a 3-pointer 29 seconds later helping Vandy open up a six-point advantage going into the final media timeout of the first half. The senior would begin the second half with three more 3-pointers in a one-minute, 50-second stretch as the Dores would go up 50-39 with less than 16 minutes remaining to play, finishing 5-of-11 beyond the arc.
Okereke made 5-of-8 shots from the floor and 11-of-14 free throw attempts, posting 15 points in the second half on his way to his highest total as a Commodore.
Jalen Washington chipped in with eight rebounds as well to share team-high honors with McGlockton, and Tyler Tanner was credited with a game-best six assists against one turnover.
The Dores were 23-of-29 at the foul line as a team, and they limited the Aggies (17-8, 7-5 SEC) to just 39 percent shooting from the field. Texas A&M also made only 5-of-10 free throws.
Marcus Hill was the only Aggie in double figures after scoring 20 points, although Ali Dibba finished with nine points and eight rebounds and Rashaun Agee scored eight to go along with a game-high 11 boards.
Vandy returns to the road on Wednesday for a match-up with Missouri that is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
