Vanderbilt won his first SEC win of the season thanks in large part to Max Evans’ 29 points and five trios.
The Vanderbilt Commodores defeated South Carolina’s Gamecocks 93-81, earning his first SEC win of the season.
Vanderbilt jumped to a big advantage in the beginning and, although the Gamecocks reduced the margin, the Commodores never gave up the lead.
Max Evans and Scotty Pippen Jr. passed the twenty point mark with 29 and 23, respectively. Dylan Disu added 17 points and seven rebounds. Pippen Jr. also ended with Seven Assists.
“When the three of us go, everyone goes, and that’s the recipe for winning every game we play,” said Evans of the combined production between him, Pippen Jr. and Disu.
The Commodores got off to a quick start thanks to the hot shots from the outside and some sloppy moves from the Gamecocks. South Carolina turned three times in a three-minute break, leading to some easy transition points for Vanderbilt and three open. In the first media timeout, the Commodores were 19-8 with Disu and Pippen Jr. combining for 15 points and three points out of three.
The next few minutes were more of the same for Gamecocks, as they turned it over twice. Vanderbilt extended his lead to 30-16 at the 12:07 mark thanks to 10-13 pitches and 4-5 from three.
South Carolina did not leave calmly at first. The Gamecocks quickly returned to the game with a 14-0 run to make it 30-27, with eight of those points coming with Pippen Jr. and Disu on the bench. A three-ball from Max Evans ended the race in South Carolina, and Pippen Jr. then found Ejike Obinna to bury in the open in consecutive possessions to push the lead to 37-31.
Vanderbilt really created his split in the final 4:15 of the first half, taking advantage of five more Gamecock turnovers for a 15-3 run. The Commodores went to the locker room leading 52-37, getting 15 points each from Disu and Pippen Jr. and 15 points more in South Carolina’s 11 starts in the first half.
Gamecocks were never able to play a serious game in the second half, as the Commodores never allowed them to reach single digits and increased their lead to up to 25. Although the final score showed a 93-81 victory, the game was never so close, as Vanderbilt maintained a firm 15-20 point lead for most of the second half.
Evans was the biggest story of the second half, adding 18 more points and 4 three points. His 29 the total points were the highest of the season, as he spent much of the year in a severe shooting fall. He finished the game by shooting 9-15 of the field with five trios.
“When you get some easy opportunities, you get some lay-ups, it helps when you start kicking three,” said coach Stackhouse. “I think Max was a big benefit of that. He was one of those guys going out at the beginning of the transition, doing some lay-ups, and then the basket got huge for him. “
Vanderbilt ended the game with 29-59 (49.2 percent) of field shots and 13-33 (39.4 percent) in three. The Commodores also turned 16 Gamecock spins into 26 points and hit 22-27 in the charity band.
“Yes, that locker room is very happy now,” said Stackhouse. “They feel good about what they have worked and what they have accomplished, and they feel that we can do more. And I feel that we can do more. “
The Commodores will be back in action on February 3, when they will face Texas A&M on the road.