Dec. 10, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | AP Gallery 
Vanderbilt 78 – Alabama A&M 55
December 10, 2008 – Memorial Gym
Attendance: 12,662
– Wednesday’s game marks the fifth career meeting between Vanderbilt and Alabama A&M. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 4-0, with all the games being played in Nashville
– Vanderbilt started center A.J. Ogilvy, forwards Steve Tchiengang and Jeffery Taylor and guards Jermaine Beal and Brad Tinsley
– Beal leads the team with 44 career starts, including 39 straight, while Ogilvy made his 42nd start. Ogilvy has now started in 42 of 43 career games including all nine this season. The only game Ogilvy didn’t start in was senior night last season against Mississippi State. Taylor made his ninth start of his career while Tinsley is making his seventh consecutive start. Steve Tchiengang made the second start of his career.
First Half Notes:
– Vanderbilt won the opening tip
– With Brad Tinsley’s three-pointer at the 19:35 mark in the first half, Vanderbilt extended its streak of consecutive games (707) with a three-pointer, dating back to when the three-point line was established in the 1986-87 season. The Commodores streak ranks second only to UNLV (715) for the longest streak in Division I basketball.
– Vanderbilt opened the game with a 7-0 run through the games first 3:48.
– With Festus Ezeli’s lay-in, the Commodores jumped out to a 19-9 lead with 11:33 remaining in the first half.
– Alabama A&M went on a 9-2 run to cut the Vanderbilt lead to two points (23-21) with 6:11 remaining in the first half. Vanderbilt responded with a 12-3 run of their own to take 35-24 lead with 1:57 remaining in the half.
– Vanderbilt closed the half on 11-0 run to take a 41-26 lead into halftime. The 15-point lead was the largest lead of the first half.
– Ogilvy, Taylor and Beal led VU in scoring during the first half with eight points each. George Drake came off the bench to score seven first-half points while Tinsley chipped in six.
– Vanderbilt outscored the Bulldogs 18-8 in the paint during the first half
– Tinsley and Beal each had four assists in the first half.
Second Half Notes:
– With A.J. Ogilvy’s dunk at the 10:29 mark, Vanderbilt expanded its lead to 18 points (55-37).
– From the 11:53 mark to the 7:08 mark in the second half Ogilvy scored nine straight points for the Commodores to give them a 59-42 lead.
– Vanderbilt went on a 16-7 run to take a 67-44 advantage with 5:54 remaining.
– With Festus Ezeli’s lay-in at the 2:58 mark in the second half, Vanderbilt expanded its lead to 24 (75-51). The 24-point lead was the largest of the game.
Postgame Notes:
– With the win, Vanderbilt improves to 6-3 while Alabama A&M falls to 1-4
– Jeffery Taylor scored a career-high 18 points on 8-9 shooting. Taylor has now scored in double figures in eight-of-nine games. The 8-9 shooting was a season-high for Taylor.
– With the win Vanderbilt improves to 6-0 all-time against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
– Vanderbilt shot a season-high 59.1 percent from the floor (26-44). It’s previous season-high was 50.8 percent against Central Arkansas.
– Vanderbilt had three players score in double figures Taylor (18), Ogilvy (17) and Beal (14).
– Vanderbilt outscored Alabama A&M 36-18 in the paint
– Vanderbilt had 21 bench points while Alabama A&M had nine
– Vanderbilt outrebounded the Bulldogs 34-30, despite being outrebounded 14-6 on the offensive glass. Vanderbilt is 6-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent
– Ogilvy pulled down a game-high eight rebounds in the win. Beal added five while Tchiengang tied a career-high with four boards.
– Vanderbilt was 21-29 (72.4%) from the free throw line, while Alabama A&M was 10-12 (83.3%). Ogilvy tied a season-high with nine made free throws, going 9-12 (75%), while Beal was 5-6 from the line.
– Vanderbilt’s defense held the Bulldogs to 32% FG percentage (20-62) in the game. The 32% opponent FG percentage is the second lowest a team has shot against the Commodores this season (MTSU 30.4% back on 11/24/08).
– Darshawn McClellan tied a season-high with four assists
– Vanderbilt’s Aaron Noll saw his first collegiate action tonight
– Elliot Cole scored the first point of his college career with a made free throw with 35 seconds remaining in the game.
– Vanderbilt played thirteen players.
