After trailing at halftime, Vanderbilt used an early second half burst to take charge and hold on for a 79-76 victory over UNC Asheville at Memorial Gym.
The Commodores went on an 11-0 run in the first 3:35 of the second half and never gave up the lead after that.
Riley LaChance, Matthew Fisher-Davis, and Jeff Roberson each scored 17 points to lead Vanderbilt, with the latter grabbing 12 rebounds to earn his third straight double-double to start the season.
Here's a look at our highlights from tonight's dub over UNC Asheville. #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/UIqLIu7zd8
— Vanderbilt Men's Basketball (@VandyMBB) November 18, 2017
Big man Djery Baptiste scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
UNC Asheville forward Alec Wnuk led the Bulldogs with 19 points.
Lovell’s Analysis
As mentioned in my predictions post, I anticipated this being a close game the entire way due to the current state of both teams.
The Bulldogs are a good basketball team that should win the Big South this season, and they have enough balance to give someone a scare come NCAA Tournament time.
For Vanderbilt, there is still an adjustment period going on in trying to find an offensive flow, but at least it shot better than it did in the loss at Belmont on Monday.
And in all honestly, finding that flow may take a little time and result in some ups and downs during non-conference play.
The most notable takeaways from this game centered around the play of Roberson and Baptiste.
Anyone that has ever read this website or listened to me on a podcast knows that I’ve been on the Roberson bandwagon for years now.
He’s the absolute workhorse that Vandy needs to be successful this season, and with several unproven frontcourt players on the roster, Roberson is the most important piece of the puzzle in that he does so many things well.
Of course, Baptiste’s performance is certainly a welcome sight from Bryce Drew and his staff.
This was a step forward for Baptiste in that he looked more composed on both ends of the floor and was able to capitalize on his opportunities. He played less than 14 minutes in the first two games, but contributed 25 minutes in this one.
Again, this is a better win than most think, and it’s one that Vanderbilt needed before Sunday’s showdown against a Top 10 USC team.
Drew will need everyone at their best in that one, as the Trojans will present some unique challenges given their impressive depth and scoring ability.
The Commodores will need the same type of production from their big three, but it’ll be players like Baptiste, Joe Toye (who has yet to find much of a rhythm this season), and freshman Saben Lee that will need to be at their best to help Vanderbilt pack enough of a punch to take down USC.
That game will tell us a lot more about how big of a threat this Vandy team could be in the SEC this season.