Feb. 14, 2018
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Vanderbilt Postgame Notes
Vanderbilt 81, Mississippi State 80
Memorial Gymnasium – Nashville, Tenn.
The Series: With the win the Commodores move to 79-49 all-time against Mississippi State. Vanderbilt now has a 47-9 series advantage in games played between the teams in Memorial Gym.
Team notes:
– With the win, Vanderbilt moves to 10-16 overall and 4-9 in the Southeastern Conference.
– The victory marks Vanderbilt’s fourth consecutive victory in Memorial Gym, with the previous wins coming against LSU, TCU and Georgia.
– The Commodores featured the same five starters for the sixth straight game: guards Maxwell Evans, Riley LaChance and Saben Lee, forward Jeff Roberson and center Ejike Obinna.
– The Commodores shot 50% from the field (28-of-56) and 51.9% from 3-point range (14-of-27). They also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 31-23.
– Two reserves, sophomore guard/forward Joe Toye and sophomore guard Payton Willis played key roles on the offensive end for the Commodores, scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively.
– The Commodores made 14 3-point baskets in the game, their highest total in conference play this season. It was the team’s second highest 3-point total of the season, trailing only a 17 3-point outburst against Alcorn State (Dec. 22).
– In the first half, the Commodores were 7-of-13 (53.8%) from beyond 3-point range. After trailing 22-14 before intermission, Vanderbilt went on a 26-9 run to take a 40-31 halftime advantage. It marks the Commodores’ largest halftime lead since holding a 45-35 margin vs. Tennessee (Jan. 6, Memorial Gym). The Dores also owned a 10-point halftime lead (43-33) in a 76-75 home win over Alabama (Jan. 2).
– Vanderbilt moved to 8-5 this season when leading at halftime.
– The Commodores received solid support off the bench, getting 37 points from the reserves.
– The Commodores had four players reach double-digits in scoring. The team’s leaders were Roberson (22), LaChance (16), Toye (16) and Willis (15).
– It marked the fifth time in the last six games that the Commodores had at least three players with double-digit scoring. Vanderbilt did not have a single player in double-digits in the loss at Arkansas (Feb. 10).
Player notes:
– Roberson produced his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 22 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.
– Besides making the game-winning jumper in the waning seconds, LaChance finished with 16 points, including 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He also had a season-high eight assists. With those 16 points, LaChance moved into 19th all-time in scoring at Vanderbilt with 1,361 points, passing Butch Feher (1973-76) and Billy McCaffrey (1993-94).
– Willis enjoyed a career game for the Commodores. The sophomore guard gave the Commodores a big lift in the first half, knocking down three 3-pointers before intermission. Willis finished the game with a season-high 15 points. He also set a new career-high with five 3-pointers.
– Toye registered a season-high with three 3-pointers and added a highlight dunk to finish with 16 points, hauling in six rebounds and dishing out four assists.
