(Updated: CORRECTS 9 to 11 and time in graph 4, sentence 2 CORRECTS time in graph 5)
Vanderbilt 69, Marshall 67:Damian Jones scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds as theCommodores held off a late charge by the visiting Thundering Herd.
James Siakam added 15 points forVanderbilt (5-3), which forced a turnover in the final seconds asMarshall tried for the tying field goal. Rod Odom added 11 points andsix rebounds as the Commodores won the rebound battle 39-34.
Kareem Canty led Marshall (4-4)with 18 points while Elijah Pittman chipped in 17 points and ateam-high six boards. Shawn Smith had 15 points and was 7-of-8 fromthe free-throw line, while his teammates hit 7-of-15 from the charitystripe.
Vanderbilt led throughout thefirst half, though the lead was down to one with just over fourminutes to play on Pittman’s 3-pointer. But the Commodores went on aclosing 11-3 run over the last 3:30 to take a nine-point lead intohalftime.
The lead was 10 with 8:33 to play when Marshall went on a 9-0 run to cut the advantageto just one. But the Herd could never get over the hump as theCommodores had an answer every time Marshall would pull close.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Marshall, whichcame into the game averaging 88.4 points, was held to a season-lowscoring output. â? Vanderbilt, which was averaging three blocks,got six in the game. â? The Commodores shot 18-of-26 from thefree-throw line and 5-of-17 from the 3-point line.
