Nov. 20, 2014
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Howell’s Photos 
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening comments
“We were happy to win it. I thought Lipscomb played very well, especially for a 10- to 12-minute stretch in the second half. We had trouble keeping our concentration. We made a nice run at the end of the first half and then we got in foul trouble. I thought we lost our concentration early in the second half and then Lipscomb got into a flow and into a rhythm. When you have a team that can score at times, that can be problematic. I was probably as upset at the last two minutes of the game as I was at any point.”
On Vanderbilt center Damian Jones
“We were able to get him the ball… He shot his free throws well tonight. He made a nice jump shot on the perimeter. That’s something he’s worked hard on. He is a good player and a very important player for us.”
On using time outs to stop Lipscomb’s momentum
“They’re a dangerous offensive team because of their ability to utilize the three-point shot. This is a game that has left me unsettled for the last two months. I wanted to settle our guys down and get them refocused. Jeff Roberson was big in the second half. When Luke [Kornet] was in foul trouble, [Roberson] was effective. It was also nice to have James [Siakam] back. We need James in games like this… It was a good team win.”
On Vanderbilt Guard Wade Baldwin IV
“He needs to do what we coach him to do. He’s a good player. It’s a concentration thing with him. His challenge is to concentrate and be fundamental.”
On defending Lipscomb guard Josh Williams
“We played more zone than we anticipated. I think the zone slowed him down a bit.”
On Vanderbilt’s youth
“Every game is a learning experience. Hopefully, this experience helps us when we have a tight game in the future. Basketball is interesting because you watch Lipscomb play Belmont and I thought they played so much more within themselves tonight… They did things that made them more effective against us than they did in their first two games.”
Sophomore Center Damian Jones
On Lipscomb getting back into the ballgame
“We didn’t come out strong enough. They got consecutive baskets every time down, and you can’t have that.”
On being the focus of the offense
“We have a lot of plays designed to get the ball to the post. It just keeps me going, keeps my energy high, and gets me involved.”
On if the game plan was to exploit the post area
“I think so. We were scoring in the post, and not just me but everybody. It really helped.”
On development of the outside jumper
“Whenever they stop me inside, I have that to rely on it. So it just adds more to my game. Over the summer I’d been working on it.”
On development of this year’s freshmen class
“I think they are doing things great. They are coming along well, and making huge strides.”
Freshman Guard Wade Baldwin IV
On reclaiming control of the game in the second half
“I think Damian (Jones) got great position in the post. He’s the best player on our team, and he showed it tonight. He got the ball and took over the game. It’s very easy playing with a guy that is so good. Other people stepped up, and made big plays as well.”
On what type of player he considers himself
“I am wherever Coach Stalling’s wants me to go to be honest.”
On the early seasons tests so far
“Yeah we are facing tests. We are all young freshman, and all five of us are playing. I think we are doing a very good job to begin with. Hopefully it keeps rolling through. We have tough opponents next week… Going over to New York, and we have a tough game on Sunday. So, we are just taking it each game at a time, and try to play our hearts out.”
On excitment of the upcoming game in New York
“I can’t wait, that is home for me.”
Lipscomb Head Coach Casey Alexander
The differences between two halves
“I thought our efforts were good on both halves. First half we couldn’t get baskets to fall. The deficits were tough on our guys after such a poor performance against Belmont on Monday. To get down so much in a hurry, for our guys to battle back through that I was really impressed.”
On building team confidence
“You don’t want to build confidence after a loss, but I told our guys we were a significantly better team despite the loss than the one that started the game. We grew up a lot and we came together a little bit. We fought back and closed the margin significantly two different times so we do need to carry that over to next game. It counts for nothing walking down tomorrow if we don’t come with the same mentality. We can use it to make us better.”
On half time adjustments
“They had 26 out of 40 points at half time that were transition or offensive rebounds… So they didn’t get their first transitional basket until six or seven minutes to go in the second half. That was the huge part of that; It happened to be the only stretch of the game we were making shots also. It’s just that the ball wouldn’t go in for us except for during that stretch. But it was nice to cut it back quickly and we kept it manageable for a long time until we gave up that transitional basket I was talking about – Fisher-Davis makes a wide up three put it to eight [points]. We never made it back to a workable margin after that.