NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt Commodores men’s basketball team had a slow start in its Sunday afternoon exhibition game against the Chargers of the University of Alabama-Huntsville. The Commodores came thundering back to best the Chargers 84-65.
Vanderbilt started the contest with a nine-point scoring drought within the first five minutes of the game, but that was put to an end with a jumper by sophomore forward A.J. Ogilvy, who led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 9-for-10 from the floor. Ogilvy was also perfect on free throws, shooting 7-for-7. Freshman forward Jeffrey Taylor came as good as advertised, contributing 16 points and shooting 7-for-8 from the floor.
“We were nervous and up-tight when we started the contest and struggled in the beginning,” Taylor said. “We calmed down after a few minutes and played well the rest of the way. We started doing what we did in the preseason, and we were able to let go.”
The `Dores did just that and proceeded to go on a 9-0 scoring tear, tying up the game at 13-13 with a dunk by freshman forward Steve Tchiengang with 9:30 to go in the first half. Vanderbilt carried the momentum into halftime with a 29-13 scoring run, resulting in a 37-25 advantage heading into the second half. Both the Commodores and the Chargers had 10 turnovers in the first half.
In the second half, the `Dores came out firing as they gained their largest lead of 28 with nearly nine minutes remaining in the second half. Freshmen forwards Lance Goulbourne and Jordan Smart earned their first collegiate points on bookended 3-pointers, with Goulbourne’s coming 30 seconds into the second half and Smart’s ending the game at the buzzer.
All 14 Commodores had the opportunity to play in tonight’s exhibition with 12 putting points on the scoreboard. There are 15 men on the roster, but sophomore guard Jamie Graham will not suit up until his season comes to an end as a starting wide receiver with the Commodore football team.
“I told our team that we were going to have everyone play in the first half,” Head Coach Kevin Stallings noted. “In the second half, we played it closer in terms of how the game was to go. We didn’t run a single out of bounds play. We didn’t want to put any of that out there. We just played our base offense and defense.”
Consensus Preseason All-SEC center Ogilvy brings leadership to the court as the only returning All-SEC selection from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.
“I’ve been trying to make a good transition and make a positive impression on the freshmen coming through,” Ogilvy remarked. “But they didn’t really need too much leadership. They are really great players and contributed a lot to our team today. I feel like today that they mean just as much to the team as I do.”
The Commodores begin regular season action when they face off with the Eagles of Morehead State in the Cancun Tournament at Memorial Gym on Nov. 16. Tip-off for the game, the first leg of the Tournament, is at 4 p.m.
