Vanderbilt-Mercer postgame notes

Dec. 21, 2009

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Vanderbilt 99, Mercer 59
December 21, 2009 – Memorial Gym – Nashville, Tenn.
Attendance: 12,347

Starting Lineups
– Vanderbilt started senior Jermaine Beal, sophomore Brad Tinsley and sophomore Jeffery Taylor at guard … sophomore Andre Walker started at forward and sophomore Festus Ezeli started at center … It was the second time this season that Vanderbilt used this starting lineup … Vanderbilt is now 2-0 with this starting lineup after previously beating Lipscomb in the season opener.
– Taylor made his 42nd consecutive start and has started every game of his career … Tinsley made the 39th start of his career and 22nd in a row, starting every game since Jan. 31, 2009 at Auburn … After having his streak of 70-straight starts snapped against Western Kentucky on Dec. 11, Beal made the 76th of his career … The start by Walker was the 11th of his career and 10th in 11 games this season … Before this season, his only start was against MTSU on Nov. 24, 2009 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. … Ezeli’s start was the fourth of the year, third in a row and 10th of his career … Today’s game marked just the sixth time in Ogilvy’s career (74 career games) that he did not start.

Postgame Notes
– Vanderbilt improved to 8-3 on the season, while Mercer fell to 4-6 … Vanderbilt has now won 10 in a row at Memorial Gym, including all five games this year … VU’s last home loss was against Florida on Jan. 25, 2009.
– The 2009-10 season is the 110th in Vanderbilt’s history.
– Today’s meeting was the 14th all-time between Vanderbilt and Mercer … Vanderbilt now leads the all-time series 9-5 … Vanderbilt leads the series 8-4 in games played at Memorial Gym.
– Vanderbilt is now 2-0 against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference this season … Vanderbilt opened the season with a 95-73 win over Lipscomb.
– With the win, Vanderbilt is now 45-10 against teams from the Atlantic Sun … Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings is now 1-0 all-time against Mercer.
– With Jermaine Beal’s three-pointer with 17:26 remaining in the first half, Vanderbilt extended its consecutive games streak with at least one three-pointer made to 740 … VU is one of only three schools (UNLV and Princeton) that have made at least one three-pointer in every game played since the three-point line was established for the 1986-87 season … Only UNLV (748) has a longer streak than Vanderbilt.
– Vanderbilt had five players reach double figures in scoring for the first time since Jan. 19, 2008 against LSU … Reaching double figures were Jermaine Beal (15), Brad Tinsley (14), A.J. Ogilvy (11), John Jenkins (17) and Jeffery Taylor (13).
– Vanderbilt scored a season-high 99 points, surpassing the 95 points scored in the season opener against Lipscomb … It was Vanderbilt’s second 90-point game of the season … The 99 points by Vanderbilt were the most since also scoring 99 on Feb. 28, 2007 against South Carolina … The last time Vanderbilt scored 100 points was in a 102-59 win over UPR-Mayaguez.
– Vanderbilt’s 40-point win was its largest margin of victory since topping Kentucky 93-52 (41 points) on Feb. 12, 2008 in Memorial Gym.
– The Commodores connected on a season-high 12-of-21 three-pointers … The 12 three-pointers were also topped last year’s season high of 10, which was accomplished three times.
– Vanderbilt shot 60.3 percent from the floor … It was the second game in a row Vanderbilt has shot 60 percent or better after shooting a season-best 67.9 percent from the floor against Tennessee State.
– Vanderbilt’s 22 assists were a season-high, topping the 21 assists the team had against Tennessee State.
– The Commodores are now 5-0 when shooting better than 50 percent this season.
– Vanderbilt is 6-0 when scoring at least 70 points this season.
– Vanderbilt outscored Mercer 34-16 in the paint.

First Half Notes – Vanderbilt 50, Mercer 25

– Leading 9-3, Vanderbilt went on a 15-2 run to extend its lead to 17, 24-7, following a three-pointer by Jermaine Beal at the 10:54 mark.
– Vanderbilt held an 11-7 lead at the 14:37 mark before going on an 18-2 run to take a 20-point lead, 29-9, with 9:44 to play.
– Vanderbilt connected on 13 of its first 18 shots (72.2 percent), including its first five three-pointers.
– A basket by A.J. Ogilvy at the 4:30 mark pushed Vanderbilt’s lead to 27, 42-15 … The 27-point lead was it largest of the half.
– Mercer would cut into Vanderbilt’s lead by going on an 8-0 run to make the score 42-23 with 2:30 to play.
– Vanderbilt answered by scoring the next eight points to extend its lead to 27, 50-23, with 37 seconds to play.
– The 50 first-half points scored by Vanderbilt were the most in the first half this season … Vanderbilt’s previous high in the first half was 43 against Tennessee State and Lipscomb … The last time Vanderbilt scored 50 points in the first half was Dec. 29, 2007 when the team scored 51 against UT Martin … Vanderbilt’s highest total in a half this season was 52 in the second half against Lipscomb on Nov. 16
– Vanderbilt’s three-pointers made in the half (seven) equaled the total number of field goals made by Mercer in the half.
– Vanderbilt shot a season-best 62.5 percent from the floor in the first half, including 63.6 percent from three-point range.
– Mercer shot 29.2 percent from the floor.
– Ties: 1
– Lead changes: 0
– Largest lead: VU – 27, 0:37; TSU – N/A
John Jenkins started the game by making his first three shots, all from three … His three first-half triples were one shy of his career high … He finished the half with nine points.
Jermaine Beal led the team with 10 points in the half.
– Vanderbilt had eight players score in the first half.
– Vanderbilt outrebounded Mercer 18-14 and outscored Mercer 16-8 in the paint.

Second Half Notes
– With Vanderbilt holding a 54-29 advantage, the Commodores went on a 10-0 run to take a 35-point lead â€â€ its largest lead of the game, 64-29, with 16:10 to play.
– A three-pointer by Brad Tinsley at the 15:23 mark gave Vanderbilt a 36 point lead, 67-31, its largest of the game.
– Ties: 0
– Lead changes: 0
– Largest lead: VU – 40, 1:44; TSU – N/A
– Vanderbilt shot 57.7 percent from the floor in the half and 50.0 percent from three.
– Mercer shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the half and 22.2 percent from three.

Individual Notes
– Tonight’s win was the 197th for Head Coach Kevin Stallings, tying him with Bob Polk for the second-most wins in school history … He now has 197 career wins and 131 losses at Vanderbilt … Roy Skinner’s 278 wins is more than any coach in Vanderbilt history.
John Jenkins scored a career-best 17 points to reach double figures in scoring for the sixth time in his career … Jenkins has now scored in double figures in three of the last four games … The four three-pointers by Jenkins tied a season high (Chaminade) … His previous career high in points was 14 against Chaminade … By making 4-of-6 threes, Jenkins tied the team’s season mark for highest three-point percentage in a game (66.7 percent).
Jeffery Taylor finished with 13 points to reach double figures in scoring for the 32nd time in his career … He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
Brad Tinsley scored a season-high14 points to reach double figures for the third time this season and for the 23rd time in his career … Tinsley’s previous season high was 12 against Illinois … The 14 points were the most by Tinsley since scoring 20 in last year’s season finale.
A.J. Ogilvy scored 11 points and now has 1,162 for his career, which ranks 28th in school history … He now trails Billy Joe Adcock (1,190) for 27th all-time … A.J. Ogilvy has scored in double figures in 64 of 74 career games … It was the seventh time this season he has scored in double figures.
Jermaine Beal scored 15 points to reach double figures in scoring for the ninth time this season and 44th time in his career.
Jermaine Beal finished the game with six assists and ranks eighth in school history with 354 career assists … Russell Lakey (2000-04) is seventh in school history with 369 assists.
Darshawn McClellan tied a career high with two steals.