Davidson starts slow, falls to Vanderbilt on the road

Slow-starting Davidson had a three-game winning streak snapped Monday in a 76-71 loss against Vanderbilt at Alumni Gymnasium.

Davidson (6-6) shot just 42.1 percent from the field and fell behind by as many as 24 points in the second half. The Wildcats made the game close late, thanks largely to Vanderbilt’s own shooting problems. The Commodores didn’t make a field goal the final 13 minutes 9 seconds of the game and got their final 17 points at the free-throw line.

The Wildcats never led, but cut the score to 17-16 on a 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Mike Jones with 10:25 left in the first half. The Commodores (9-4) then went on a 12-0 run, with the Wildcats not scoring again until junior guard Kellan Grady hit a 3-pointer with 4:03 remaining in the half.

Guard Scottie Pippen Jr. (son of the former Chicago Bulls star) led Vanderbilt with 18 points. Forward Aaron Nesmith, the SEC’s leading scorer, had 17.

Davidson had five players in double figures — Grady (16), guard Carter Collins (13), guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson (12), guard Mike Jones (10) and forward Hyunjung Lee (10).

Davidson, which has played eight of its last nine games on the road, opens its Atlantic 10 schedule Sunday at Duquesne.

This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 10:27 PM.