Lovell’s Notebook: Takeaways from Vandy’s 77-71 win over LSU

Vanderbilt snapped a four-game losing streak with a 77-71 win over LSU in Nashville on Saturday.

The Commodores led for all but 21 seconds in the game and scored the win with second-leading scorer Matthew Fisher-Davis still sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

Saben Lee’s progression

Lee wasn’t mentioned among the league’s top freshmen when the season started, but by season’s end, there’s a good chance he’ll enter that discussion.

He scored 12 points against LSU and how has now hit double figures in scoring in seven out of his last eight games.

But it wasn’t the scoring that was his most impressive feat of the day. Lee held fellow freshman Tremont Waters (16.3 ppg average entering the game) to just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting, which was a big reason for the Commodores’ success.

With Fisher-Davis’ status for the rest of the season unknown at this point, Lee’s emergence over the past month has certainly come at a good time.

Career night for Duop Reath

You always wonder how a player will adjust to a new coaching staff, but the senior forward has been excellent for Will Wade and company.

Reath went for a career-high 31 points in this one, while also earning a double-double with 13 rebounds.

With Vanderbilt’s inexperience in the frontcourt, this was a game where Reath needed to assert himself on the both ends of the floor. And boy did he do that for the 34 minutes that he was on the court.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough help around him to help LSU keep its road winning streak going.

Riley’s redemption

Riley LaChance missing three straight free throws late in a four-point game against Kentucky was not something that you see every day.

That can be a tough moment to come back from, but LaChance got his redemption at Memorial Gym by going for 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Best of all? He returned to form by hitting all six free throws.

And as expected, Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew was pleased with the response from the senior.

“He has been in the gym, and he has been focused,” Drew said. “Mentally, he’s been in a really, really good place. It was great to see him want the ball down the stretch and want to get to the free-throw line. His numbers speak volumes for what he did for our team tonight.”

LaChance, Lee, and Jeff Roberson (who had another solid game with 20 points and six rebounds) will be the driving force for this team throughout the rest of the season, and this game proved that the Commodores can find ways to win when that trio is playing well.

Fisher-Davis’ future

As mentioned, there are a lot of unknowns right now as to when, or if, Fisher-Davis will return to the court.

“He’s seeing the doctors today and going through all the exams,” Drew said when asked about Fisher-Davis’ current status. “We’ll get a clearer picture whether he’ll play next week or miss some games and what the rest of the season will look like.”

Drew also mentioned that Fisher-Davis’ family was currently in Nashville and that all parties would make the best decision for his future.

“You want to do what’s good to help Vanderbilt, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure he’s gonna be healthy and not in harm’s way,” Drew said. “We’ll go through all the different options we have and then make an educated decision.

The senior guard is obviously a big asset due to his 3-point shooting ability, and should he remain out for an extended amount of time, it’ll be even more important for players like Lee and LaChance to offer significant perimeter production each night.

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