Feb. 7, 2018
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The shots were falling for Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. This time, they led to a victory.
The Commodores shot 55 percent from the field and led from start to finish in an 81-66 victory over Georgia at Memorial Gym.
Here’s how it went down:
THE SKINNY: The Commodores forced a quick Georgia timeout after Riley LaChance drained a 3-pointer for an early 7-0 lead. Vanderbilt went on to lead by as many as 11 in the first half and shot 52 percent to take a 39-31 lead into the break. The Bulldogs rallied to cut their deficit to 48-47 with 13:18 to play on a William Jackson III jumper. But Vanderbilt controlled momentum late, ballooning its lead to as many as 17 points the rest of the way.
TURNING POINT: After leading by just one midway through the second half, a pair of 3-pointers from LaChance and Joe Toye sparked the crowd at Memorial Gym and gave Vanderbilt a 74-58 lead with 7:47 to play. That quick 6-0 run forced a timeout from Georgia coach Mark Fox, and the Dawgs never threatened from there.
IMPACT PLAYER: Saben Lee. Georgia had no answer for Vanderbilt’s freshman guard, particularly in the first half. Lee led all scorers with 14 points at halftime and finished with 19 points on 5-7 shooting. He hit three of his five 3-point attempts and dished out four assists.
STARTLING STAT: 55 – Vanderbilt’s field-goal percentage. The Commodores knocked down 27-49 shots for a season-high 55 percent field-goal shooting. That included 11-24 on 3-pointers.
WHAT IT MEANS: Vanderbilt improves to 3-8 in SEC play and 9-15 overall. The Commodores inch closer to digging themselves out of last place in the conference ahead of the SEC tournament, as the six teams ahead of Vanderbilt entered Wednesday with 4-6 league records — including Georgia.
WHAT’S NEXT: Vanderbilt travels to Arkansas on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff on SEC Network.
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.