Jordan Wright scored 15 points as visiting LSU never trailed and recorded a 75-61 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.
The Tigers (16-13, 8-8 SEC) won for the fourth time in five games, led by as many as 22 points, and dominated most of the way after getting each of their previous three wins by one point.
A Nashville native, Wright made 5 of 8 shots and also grabbed seven rebounds to help the Tigers get a 41-29 edge on the glass, including 14-10 on the offensive glass. He also helped LSU score 12 second-chance points and 26 points in the paint.
Jalen Reed added 13 while Will Baker, Tyrell Ward and Mike Williams III contributed 10 apiece as LSU shot 56 percent in a dominant opening 20 minutes and finished at 43.9 percent.
Tyrin Lawrence led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but the Commodores (8-21, 3-13) were unable to follow up their strong performance against Arkansas on Tuesday. Ezra Manjon added 17 as Vanderbilt shot 36.4 percent, missed its first 12 3-point tries, and shot 3-for-21 from behind the arc while constantly missing open looks.
LSU took its first double-digit lead when Reed’s 3 made it 21-9 with 10:45 left. The Tigers extended the lead to 34-17 on Wilkinson’s trey with 4:13 left and held a 42-22 lead by halftime.
Vanderbilt cut the lead to 49-36 on a drive by Lawrence with 15:55 left, forcing an LSU timeout. Vandy trailed 54-44 on a dunk by JaQualon Roberts with 10:14 left following three offensive rebounds. The Commodores were still hanging around when two free throws by Malik Presley made it 62-52 with 4:58 remaining.
LSU clinched the win by getting a three-point play from Hunter Dean ahead of baskets by Wright and Reed to open a 73-56 lead with two minutes left.
–Field Level Media