HONOLULU — Scotty Pippen Jr. scored Vanderbilt’s last 16 points as the Commodores secured a gritty 69-67 win over BYU in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday.
Vanderbilt (8-4) overcame a five-point halftime deficit and limited the high-powered Cougars (10-3) to 10 points in the final eight minutes to secure the win. With the victory, the Commodores advance to the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic scheduled for Saturday versus Stanford at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Clinging to a two-point lead on BYU’s final possession, Quentin Millora-Brown pulled down his 10th rebound of the game to help the Dores run out the clock.
Pippen finished with 23 points and three assists while Myles Stute went for 14 points and seven boards to go with 13 points from Jordan Wright.
The Commodores had the better of the play in the early going, jumping out to an 8-2 lead 1:30 into the game. The Cougars answered back with a quick 12-0 run that spanned 1:30 — turning a six-point deficit into a six-point lead at 14-8.
Vandy turned up the defensive pressure and clawed back to within just one at 28-27 with 3:30 showing on the first half clock. BYU had a layup at the buzzer to take a 35-30 halftime edge.
The Dores forced 11 first half turnovers and scored six points off turnovers.
Out of the break, Wright scored Vandy’s first eight points as the Dores regained the advantage at 38-37.
The game went back-and-forth with the Dores leading by three and BYU taking a four-point edge over the next eight minutes. Trailing by four, Pippen finished a layup and four free throws to take a 59-57 lead with 6:01 left.
Pippen took over down the stretch with Vandy’s last 16 points in the final eight minutes.
For the game, Vandy’s defense forced 19 turnovers.
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