No. 11 Vanderbilt keeps undefeated season alive with 83-71 victory over South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Tyler Tanner had 19 points and a career-high 14 assists, AK Okereke scored 17 and No. 11 Vanderbilt improved to 14-0 with an 83-71 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.

The Commodores (1-0 Southeastern Conference) are off to their best start since the 2007-08 team opened 16-0. They did it against the Gamecocks (9-5, 0-1) without leading scorer Duke Miles, who missed his second straight contest with an undisclosed injury.

Miles absence didn’t slow down Vanderbilt one bit. It used an early 13-0 run — which started on Okereke’s 3-pointer — to lead 15-4 over the first six minutes. When South Carolina closed 34-30 with 4:13 before the half, Vanderbilt ended the period with an 8-4 run sparked by another three from Okereke to lead 42-34.

Vanderbilt ended any chance of a Gamecocks’ rally with a 12-3 run to start the second half and were never pressured the rest of the way.

The Commodores face a test to keep their streak going next time out when they return home to play No. 14 Alabama. Should they get past the Tide, they’ll look to match their program-best 16-0 start at home next weekend against LSU.

If Vanderbilt shows this kind of depth, it will be difficult for any opponent to slow them down. The Commodores finished with five players in double figures and shot over 50% from the field. They outrebounded the Gamecocks 37-25 and did not have a shot blocked by South Carolina.

Tyler Nickel had 16 points with four of Vanderbilt’s 10 3-pointers. Devin McGlockton added 15 points for the Commodores.

Elijah Strong led South Carolina with 17 points.

Up next

Vanderbilt: Hosts Alabama on Wednesday night.

South Carolina: Visits LSU on Tuesday night.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball