Vanderbilt Begins Byington Era with Huge Win Against Maryland Eastern Shore
A new era of basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores has begun.
The program defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 102-63 in the season opener on Monday night at Memorial Gymnasium. It was the team's first victory under new head coach Mark Byington.
All five Vanderbilt starters were announced as “point guards” during pregame festivities, something Byington focused on to begin the season.
At the half, the Commodores only held a 13-point lead as shooting took a moment to warm up.
However, in the final half of the contest, the Commodores started to show the type of pace the new Vanderbilt coach has teased over his recent media availabilities.
Byington wasn’t the only one making his Commodores debut, as the team has plenty of newcomers from the transfer portal or incoming recruiting class. After the game, the Vanderbilt head coach felt like the new way the roster is constructed is going to benefit them in turning the program around quickly this season.
"We're a deep team. I think that's one of the advantages of us."
Two of them reached a milestone in the first game of the year. Both Jaylen Carey and Devin McGlockton picked up double-doubles in their Vanderbilt debut on Monday.
Carey, who transferred to Nashville from James Madison, joined Mark Byington and had 13 points and ten rebounds. McGlockton, the Boston College transfer, finished the night with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
The Commodores did a great job not turning the ball over. They only committed one turnover in the entire game and forced Maryland Eastern Shore to fifteen.
Both the men's and women's teams broke triple digits on Monday night. The 100 points from the men’s team is the first time since 2018 against Savannah State. It was the first time they did it in the season opener since the 1975 season.
However, the new Commodores head coach was not satisfied with how the team played overall and thought there was much more to be desired.
"For me, I think of empty possessions. We missed a bunch of free throws. We missed a bunch of threes."
The team will still need some work before their next game, especially from the charity strike. Vanderbilt struggled here and only went 22-33 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. They were also 8 for 34 from behind the three-point line.
The Commodores (1-0) will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
