Vanderbilt 75, Morgan State 66: Luke Kornet scored all 11 of his points in the second half as the Commodores held off the Bears in a consolation game of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Kyle Fuller matched a season high with 16 points and freshman Damian Jones added 13 for Vanderbilt (3-2), which stopped its two-game losing streak. The Commodores, who also received 12 points from Eric McClellan and 11 from Rod Odom, will meet Loyola Marymount in the fifth-place game on Monday.
Justin Black tallied 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and tied a career high with five steals for Morgan State (0-6), which will battle winless Marist in the seventh-place game on Monday. Ian Chiles chipped in with 15 points and a season-high nine boards.
After Shaquille Duncan hit a pair of free throws to bring Morgan State within three points midway through the first half, the Bears converted only two of their final 11 field-goal attempts. Vanderbilt took advantage, getting 10 straight points inside the paint – bookended by a pair of layups from Fuller - to give the Commodores a 30-17 advantage.
Odom followed with a three-point play and 3-pointer before the break and hit another 3-pointer to open the second half to stretch the margin to 17. Morgan State used 13 second-half points from Black to rally and trimmed the deficit to five on a dunk by Chiles with 1:08 left, but Fuller hit four free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Vanderbilt shot a season-low 26.7 percent beyond the arc. … G Anthony Hubbard finished with 12 points and eight boards for Morgan State, which is off to its second 0-6 start in three years. … The Bears committed a season-high 16 turnovers, marking the first time the Commodores forced more than 10 in a game.
Vanderbilt | Morgan St. | |
Kyle Fuller 16 | Scoring | Justin Black 18 |
Kyle Fuller 5 | Assists | Justin Black 5 |
Kyle Fuller 6 | Rebounds | Ian Chiles 9 |
Kyle Fuller 7 | Free Throws Made | Justin Black 4 |
Kyle Fuller 2 | Steals | Justin Black 5 |
Eric McClellan 1 | Blocks | Ian Chiles 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Vanderbilt | 75 | 45.2 | 4-15 | 15-32 | 18 | 37 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
Morgan St. | 66 | 40.4 | 7-22 | 13-22 | 12 | 39 | 5 | 10 | 16 |