Vanderbilt holds off SE Louisiana, 78-70

The Vanderbilt Commodores got off to a slow start on Monday night against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. An early three-pointer by Aaron Nesmith extended Vanderbilt’s streak of games with a made three to 1,070, but those were the only points for the Commodores prior to the first media timeout, at which point the Lions led 10-3. Southeastern led for most of the first half with Vanderbilt shooting 33 percent from the floor in the opening frame, but another three by Nesmith finally gave Vanderbilt its first lead shortly before halftime, and the Commodores took a 33-31 lead into the break.

The teams went back and forth for a few minutes before Dylan Disu and Aaron Nesmith hit back-to-back threes a few minutes in, giving Vanderbilt a 48-42 lead at the 13:53 mark of the second half. Vanderbilt would never trail again in this game, but unlike Friday night, the Commodores never really got comfortable either. The culprit was an inability to keep Southeastern off the offensive glass: in spite of shooting poorly, the Lions managed to get enough second chances to stay in the game.

The final was 78-70. Maxwell Evans led Vanderbilt with 16 points, tying a career high. Vanderbilt is off until Saturday night when the Commodores play Tulsa.