NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A.J. Ogilvy and Jeffery Taylor each had double-doubles as Vanderbilt defeated Middle Tennessee State 65-57 on Monday night.
“I’m a bit more comfortable,” Taylor said. “The nervousness before the game is almost gone now. We’re a lot more comfortable out there now. I think we’re showing that right now we had a great game tonight.”
Ogilvy had a game-high 19 points with 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Taylor had 13 points and 11 rebounds in his third career game.
Vanderbilt outrebounded MTSU 40-28.
“It’s something we focused on all week in practice and watching film from our last game,” remarked Ogilvy, “and we came out with the mentality that we were going to own that tonight. I think we did a really good job on the boards.”
Jermaine Beal scored the first five points of the game for the Commodores (2-1), who never trailed. They held the Blue Raiders (2-2) scoreless for seven minutes of the first half and stretched a two-point lead to 25-11.
Beal finished with 12 points and four assists.
MTSU closed to 41-35 on Montarrio Haddock’s two free throws with 11:25 to play, but Vanderbilt scored the next six points, capped by Taylor’s layup.
Demetrius Green led MTSU with 15 points and seven rebounds. Nigel Johnson added 12 points.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Kevin Stallings, VU head coach, stated. “I thought they played really hard with a lot more purpose and effort than we had on Thursday night (against Illinois).
“I thought out defensive and rebounding efforts were stellar.”
