Jalen Cook scored 28 points and Jordan Wright had 15 as LSU held off Vanderbilt 77-69 on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Cook shot 10-for-19 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the foul line. Mike Williams III added 10 points and eight rebounds as the Tigers (10-5, 2-0 SEC) won their fourth consecutive game and matched their conference win total from last season.
Ezra Manjon scored 19 points, Ven-Allen Lubin and Tyrin Lawrence scored 11 apiece and Evan Taylor and Jason Rivera-Torres added 10 apiece to lead the Commodores (5-10, 0-2).
LSU, which trailed for just 59 seconds early in the game, scored 18 points off 15 Vanderbilt turnovers. It finished 20 of 23 on free throws and stopped a late Commodores comeback.
Cook had five points and Wright four as the Tigers began the second half with an 11-4 run that gave them a 41-32 lead.
Lubin answered with a layup for the Commodores before Cook and Williams had back-to-back three-point plays to complete an 8-0 run that increased the lead to 49-34.
Taylor made two 3-pointers to help Vanderbilt narrow the lead to 51-42 midway through the half, but LSU scored the next six points to take a 15-point lead.
The Tigers led by 15 three more times before the Commodores went on a 13-4 run to get within six with 3:33 remaining.
Will Baker made two free throws, Cook added two and LSU soon rebuilt the lead to 10 points.
The score was tied three times before LSU used an 8-0 run to take a 12-6 advantage.
Lubin made a layup to stop the run before Williams answered with a 3-pointer for a seven-point lead.
LSU led by seven on two more occasions before Cook made a jumper for a 21-12 lead.
Rivera-Torres and Paul Lewis made the Commodores’ first two 3-pointers to trim the lead to three points.
Cook scored the next seven Tigers points before Vanderbilt used a 6-0 run to tie the score at 28. Wright broke the tie by making two free throws that gave LSU a 30-28 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
