BATON ROUGE, La. – An early 13-4 second half run helped LSU to a 77-69 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Jalen Cook scored 28 while Jordan Wright added 15 to power LSU (10-5, 2-0 SEC) on the offensive end. The Tigers also took advantage of 15 Commodore turnovers to own an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Vanderbilt (5-10, 0-2 SEC) was led by Ezra Manjon with 19 points. Ven-Allen Lubin and Tyrin Lawrence added 11 each while Jason Rivera-Torres and Evan Taylor added 10 to give the Dores five in double figures. Manjon reach 15 points for the fifth-straight game.
The Commodores trimmed a 14-point deficit to six with 3:33 to play but could pull no closer down the stretch. Vanderbilt outshot the Tigers 44.3-42.2 percent from the field and owned a 38-36 advantage on the glass. Freshman JQ Roberts grabbed a career-best six rebounds in the game.
LSU went 20-of-23 from the free throw line, including 18-of-21 in the second half to preserve the win.
Vanderbilt returns to action on Saturday at Ole Miss. Tipoff in Oxford is set for noon on the SEC Network.
