Tyler Tanner scored 19 points and tied a single-game school record with 14 assists as No. 11 Vanderbilt knocked off South Carolina by an 83-71 score in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday.
With two of Vanderbilt’s three primary ball-handlers out, Tanner logged 37 minutes and turned the ball over just once.
AK Okereke added a season-high 17 points for Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference), Tyler Nickel scored 16, Devin McGlockton notched 15 and Jalen Washington added 10.
Vanderbilt shot 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 83% from the foul line.
The Commodores forced 14.8 turnovers coming in but Carolina coughed it up only four times. The Gamecocks (9-5, 0-1) shot 43% from the floor and 25% from 3-point range while being out-rebounded, 37-25.
Elijah Strong led South Carolina in scoring with 17. Former Commodore Myles Stute pitched in with 14 and Mike Sharavjamts added 13.
The Gamecocks’ leading scorer, Meechie Johnson with 14.0 points per game coming in, had just nine on 2-of-9 shooting.
Carolina hit one of its first 11 shots in the second half and trailed by double digits in the last 18:41.
Vanderbilt opened the second half on a 12-3 run to take a 17-point lead in the half’s first 3:36.
Nickel’s five-point possession — he hit a short jumper, missed the free throw and then nailed a 3 after Okereke grabbed the offensive board — extended the lead to 65-47 with 10:21 left.
The Commodores led 42-34 at the break.
Vanderbilt, without Duke Miles and Frankie Collins, started slowly, needing 2:20 to score its first points. The Commodores soon ran off 13 unanswered points and took a 15-4 lead.
Collins, who’s averaging 7.4 ppg and 2.4 steals per game, missed his third straight game with a meniscus injury.
Miles missed his second straight game. He was held out of Monday’s win over New Haven with an illness and missed Saturday’s contest with an undisclosed issue.
–Field Level Media
