Scotty Pippen Jr. exploded for 24 of his game-high 30 points in the second half Sunday night as Vanderbilt pulled away from Texas State for a 79-60 win in Nashville, Tenn.
Jordan Wright scored 16 and Myles Stute added 12 points — all on 3-pointers — as the Commodores improved to 2-0. With Pippen leading the charge, Vanderbilt sank 48.4 percent of its field goals in the second half, including an impressive 7 of 15 from the 3-point line.
Mason Harrell paced the Bobcats (1-2) with 16 points and Caleb Asberry added 11. Drue Drinnon chipped in 10 for the defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champs, who hit just 34 percent from the field and committed 14 turnovers that the Commodores converted into 21 points.
Vanderbilt opened the second half with 11 straight points to establish a 43-27 advantage with 16:35 left on Tyrin Lawrence’s transition layup. But Texas State rallied and pulled within 53-49 at the 7:47 mark as Isiah Small drilled two foul shots.
However, Pippen took over from there. His two free throws and 3-point play restored a nine-point cushion, and he rendered the game a blowout by rattling off 11 points in a span of 2:10. That pushed the margin to 20 inside the last 90 seconds.
Texas State came out of the gates smoking, opening up a 10-2 lead less than three minutes into the game when Harrell popped a jumper on the fast break. The Bobcats scored on their first four possessions.
Vanderbilt answered with a 13-2 burst, taking its first lead when Stute drilled a 3-pointer at the 13:15 mark to make it 15-12. From there, the teams spent the half’s remainder taking turns in the lead.
Texas State regained a 23-19 edge with 7:17 left when Asberry turned Nate Martin’s offensive rebound into a 3-pointer. But the Bobcats experienced a 4:37 scoring drought and the Commodores took advantage, eventually taking a 32-27 lead to halftime when Pippen teed up Wright for a 3-pointer just before time expired.
–Field Level Media
