AUBURN, Ala. – Jalen Washington dropped a career-high 22 points to guide No. 19 Vanderbilt to an 84-76 victory over Auburn on Tuesday night at Neville Arena.
Washington’s 22 points came on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. He added a 6-for-6 game at the free throw line and grabbed five rebounds to key the victory.
Tyler Tanner, who was named to the Wooden Award top 20 watchlist prior to tipoff, scored a game-high 25 points. It marked the third-straight game over 20 points for Tanner who added six assists and a pair of steals. Devin McGlockton chipped in a dozen points with seven boards while Tyler Nickel scored 10 to give the Commodores four in double figures.
Tahaad Pettiford led five Auburn (14-10, 5-6 SEC) scorers in double figures with 21. Keyshawn Hall scored 13 as the Dores limited the Tiger star to just 3-of-13 shooting. KeShawn Murphy added 12, Sebastian Williams-Adams 11 and Kevin Overton 10.
Vanderbilt (20-4, 7-4 SEC) jumped to an early lead by knocking down its first four shots of the game. Auburn steadied and clawed back to take a 21-20 lead at 9:25 of the opening half before Washington drilled a three to put the Dores back in front. Vandy would never trail again, closing the half on a 16-5 run to open a 42-31 edge at the break.
The Commodores controlled much of the second half before a late Auburn rally closed the gap to 70-66 with 2:42 to play. A clutch corner three from AK Okereke provided the dagger as Vandy iced the win at the free throw line, including a pair from Chandler Bing who scored eight points.
Vanderbilt shot 46.3 percent from the field and 8-of-23 from three. The Dores limited Auburn to 40 percent from the field, including a stifling 32 percent in the first half. Vandy racked up six blocks on the defensive end, powered by three rejections from McGlockton.
With the victory, Vanderbilt matches its win total from the 2024-25 season. The Commodores return home Saturday to face Texas A&M. Tipoff is set for noon at Memorial Gymnasium.
