Vanderbilt Remains Undefeated With Win Over Nevada in Charleston Classic Opener
Vanderbilt is in a new era of their basketball program after they moved on from head coach Jerry Stackhouse and hired Mark Byington away from James Madison to take over.
So far, it's been a good showing from the Commodores.
They began their season getting through the early portion of their schedule undefeated by outscoring their opponents with a high-powered offense.
But their 4-0 record was viewed with a grain of salt since their only victory against a Power 4 school was when they beat Cal, 85-69.
Still, it's always better to win these games under a new head coach than to lose them, and heading into this teams' first major test of the year against Nevada, they had built up some momentum.
That continued on Thursday night, beating the Wolf Pack, 73-71, to begin their Charleston Classic with a victory.
Early on, it looked like Vanderbilt might be struggling with the exam, trailing by nine points about five-and-a-half minutes into the game when they could only muster up three points of their own. The Commodores were kept at arms length for a bit, but they went on a run and took their first lead of the contest with 9:48 left in the half.
After that, Vanderbilt took control of the game by going up eight points, until Nevada clawed their way back into things.
The Commodores went into the locker room leading, 37-35, and they came out of it ready to extend their advantage.
They got out to a double digit lead and largely kept that distance for the majority of the second half, but just like they did before the break, Nevada closed the gap.
Things got tight for the final four minutes when the Wolf Pack cut the lead to three after a Tyler Rolison made 3-pointer, but Vanderbilt was able to respond every time, buoyed by clutch shots and free throws that allowed them to take the opener.
Senior guard AJ Hoggard led the way for the Commodores with 18 points and seven assists. In the starting lineup, Jason Edwards joined him in double figures with 16 points, while MJ Collings Jr. added 15 off the bench.
Vanderbilt shot the ball well from the field, finishing 28-59 and 6-25 from three.
This win was a good sign for the Commodores regarding what they could potentially accomplish this season by upsetting this Nevada team.
