6-seed Vandy defeats 14-seed LSU with torrid shooting

Nashville, Tenn. — Vanderbilt is seeded No. 6 (19-13, 11-7 SEC) defeated No. 1 seed LSU. 14, 77-68, in the second round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.

Tyrin Lawrence piled up an impressive 22 points, marking his fourth 20-point game of the season, all coming against an SEC opponent. Jordan Wright claimed a career-high 15 rebounds while recording his second double-double of the season with 15 points. Ezra Manjon (17 points) and Paul Lewis (11 points) also contributed to the Commodores’ dominant offensive performance.

Senior KJ Williams, playing in what was his final college game, acted as LSU’s hope, scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Trae Hannibal also recorded a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) as well as four assists while Cam Hayes scored 16 points.

Vanderbilt repeatedly denied the Tigers, recording eight blocks and limiting them to 33.3% field goal shooting while hitting 46.4% of their own field goal shooting in the victory.

After some back and forth to open, Colin Smith drilled one from beyond the arc and then laid another on a fast break during back-to-back possessions to start to give Vanderbilt some separation with an 11-5 lead.

A second driving layup by Manjon set the tone as the Commodores took over, hitting three triples and forcing consecutive drives to the basket to go ahead by 14 points at the 7:47 mark, 28-14. Williams fought to keep the Tigers in view, logging every five points during Vanderbilt’s 12-5 run.

After a few more shots from distance and a flurry of free throws, LSU found itself back in the fight, 28-22, with less than six minutes left in the first half. After exchanging points in the paint and more action from the free throw line from both ends of the court, Vanderbilt held an eight-point lead, 37-29, entering the half.

Vanderbilt outshot LSU, 46.7% to 33.3% from the field, in the first half also controlled the glass, 21-16, and points in the paint, 20-10.

Vandy rode out near-perfect shooting by Lawrence as he racked up 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 at the free throw line in the first half. Lawrence went on to make 6 of 7 from the field and 9 of 11 free-throw attempts on the night.

Williams hit the court for the second half with a comeback in mind, as he scored seven quick goals to quickly cut the Tigers’ deficit to 37-36 just three minutes into the second half. But Vanderbilt came back to limit the damage when Manjon hit a shot and sank one from long range before Lawrence put the lid on a seven-point run to pull back, 44-36.

Despite Vanderbilt’s relentless offense, Williams continued to chip away at the gap, draining his fourth 3-pointer to make it 20 points with 12:48 left. A couple of two-point shots put the Tigers in a single digit deficit; However, it would not last long as the Commodores quickly set them back 13, 60-47, just over halfway through the second.

Vanderbilt continued its lopsided style for the rest of the game, dominating the paint and the boards to grab the win and secure a trip to the quarterfinals.

Until Next Time

Vanderbilt will face 3-seed Kentucky (21-10, 12-6 SEC) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday beginning 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 9 between 10-seed Arkansas and 2-seed Texas A&M. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

LSU (14-19, 2-16 SEC) was eliminated from the tournament.