Defense carries Vanderbilt to one-sided win over Cal

Field Level Media|published: Wed 13th November, 22:27 2024

Oct 15, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Mark Byington talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt forced 18 steals and registered 30 fastbreak points in an 85-69 win over Cal on Wednesday night in Nashville.

Guards AJ Hoggard (nine points, six assists, four steals), Tyler Tanner (14 points, three steals) and Grant Huffman (six points, six assists, five rebounds four steals) led the way on defense for the Commodores.

Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt (3-0) with 18 points, and Devin McGlockton added 16 points and three blocks.

Cal (2-1) got double-figure scoring from Andrej Stojakovic (17), BJ Omot (15), DJ Campbell (12) and Jovan Blacksher Jr. (11).

The Bears' Lee Dort, who spent the last two seasons at Vanderbilt, had a game-high 10 rebounds but scored just four points.

Cal turned the ball over just 21 times combined in their two games this year. Five of their giveaways on Wednesday came from Blacksher.

Hoggard and McGlockton picked up their fourth fouls with 7:37 and 6:03 remaining, respectively, but the Commodores' deep bench (nine played logged at least 15 minutes) helped prevent a serious Cal run late in the game.

Vanderbilt went up 21 after an Edwards 3-pointer to start the second half, but the Bears, behind a scoring flurry from Stojakovic, cut the deficit to 61-52 on Omot's jumper with 12:39 left.

The Commodores then cranked up the defensive heat again, with steals from Chris Manon and MJ Collins Jr. leading to back-to-back, fastbreak layups from Collins and Tanner.

Cal was never able to make a sustained push from there and a corner 3-pointer from Edwards with 4:56 left pushed the margin 83-63.

Vanderbilt shot 19-for-23 on 2-point attempts while building a 49-31 halftime edge.

The Commodores forced 12 turnovers that turned into 20 points while holding Cal's leading scorer, Blacksher (17.5-point average coming in) to two first-half points. Blacksher also committed three turnovers before the break.

Cal coach Mark Madsen was absent to be with his family following the birth of a child this week. Associate head coach Adam Mazarei, a Vanderbilt assistant from 2019-23, led the team in his absence.

--Field Level Media