NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Five Commodores scored in double figures led by a 17-point effort from red-shirt freshman George Drake, but Vanderbilt had to withstand a late rally from visiting Northern State (S.D.) to claim a 98-94 exhibition win on Wednesday.
The Commodores built an 86-61 advantage with seven minutes remaining in the game against the Division II school, before the Wolves mounted 30-6 run to pull within a point at 92-91 with 29 seconds left. Vanderbilt’s Dan Cage, Shan Foster and Alex Gordon sank two free throws each to give the Commodores the cushion needed to close out the contest.
Drake had a strong showing, making 7-of-8 attempts from the field to go along with five rebounds. Preseason First Team All-Southeastern Conference honoree Shan Foster posted 15 points in 19 minutes. Derrick Byars added a 13-point effort from the wing on 5-of-9 shooting. Alex Gordon (11 points) and Alan Metcalfe (10 points) also reached double-digits in scoring. Jermaine Beal led Vanderbilt in assists (five) and steals (two).
Levi Hamilton was perfect from the field on eight attempts to lead Northern State with 19 points. Kevin Ratzsch posted a double-double for the Wolves with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Northern State outrebounded Vanderbilt 44-30.
Vanderbilt shot 61.3 percent from the field in the first half and took a 51-42 advantage to the locker room at halftime. Byars started strong, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the first stanza. Metcalfe contributed all of his scoring in the first half, as well as five of his six rebounds.
Three-pointers from Cage and Foster and consecutive baskets from Drake and JeJuan Brown helped the Commodores vault to a 21-point lead with 9:36 remaining. Vanderbilt increased its lead to 25-points two minutes later after a jumper from Ross Neltner, a 3-pointer from Byars and a basket and two free throws from Gordon.
Vanderbilt opens the regular season at home against nationally ranked Georgetown on Nov. 15. Game time is set for 8 p.m. CT.
