No. 24 Vanderbilt beats Saint Mary’s 96-71 to win Battle 4 Atlantis title

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Duke Miles scored 25 points, Jalen Washington added a career-high 19 points off the bench, and No. 24 Vanderbilt defeated Saint Mary’s 96-71 on Friday in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Saint Mary’s opened the second half on a 10-2 run to get within 53-44, then a three-point play by Miles put the Commodores ahead by double digits again. The Gaels were within 11 points a few minutes later then Washington’s three-point play on an alley-oop dunk restored a 16-point lead for the Commodores. Vanderbilt led by at least 12 the rest of the way.

Miles made 9 of 16 shots and also had four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Washington made 7 of 11 shots. Tyler Tanner scored 13 points and Devin McGlockton and Tyler Nickel each scored 11 for the Commodores (8-0).

Coming in, Vanderbilt led the nation in scoring at 99.7 points per game. Six players average double digits in scoring, led by Miles at 17.9 ppg.

Vanderbilt led 17-13 eight minutes into the game before Washington and Nickel hit 3-pointers to start a 17-0 run. The Commodores shot 58% for the half and led 51-34 at the break. They shot 52% for the game and made 18 of 22 free throws.

Paulius Murauskas scored 24 points and Mikey Lewis had 19 for Saint Mary’s (8-1).

Up next

Vanderbilt: Hosts SMU on Wednesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Saint Mary’s: Visits Davidson on Dec. 7.

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