Vanderbilt looks to continue an exciting start to the Mark Byington era when it hosts Southeast Missouri State on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.
The Commodores (1-0) routed Maryland Eastern Shore, 102-63, on Monday to start Byington’s tenure at the school, while the Redhawks (0-1) dropped an 88-60 decision at Bradley on the same day.
The Commodores committed just one turnover, shot 50.0 percent from the field and broke the 100-point barrier for the first time since a 120-85 win over Savannah State on Nov. 27, 2018.
Still, Byington sees room for improvement.
“We missed a bunch of free throws. We missed a bunch of 3s,” Byington said. “We’re going to have high-scoring nights. We play fast, and I think we’ve got a lot of quick guards. But there’s going to be some nights that we’ve got to win (in) different ways.”
Devin McGlockton (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Jaylen Carey (13 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded a double-double in their respective debuts with Vanderbilt.
Former Michigan State point guard AJ Hoggard will make his season debut Sunday after missing the season opener due to an NCAA suspension for participating in last spring’s Portsmouth Invitational.
Southeast Missouri State, picked seventh in the 11-team Ohio Valley Conference, received a career-high 17 points from sophomore BJ Ward and 11 from JUCO transfer Damarion Walkup in its opener.
“I’m happy that BJ was able to bounce back,” coach Brad Korn said. “He didn’t have a great statistical season outside of shooting a year ago. He’s put a lot of work into it, so for him to see it pay off in an environment and a team like (Bradley), hopefully that continues to give him that confidence, because BJ’s a very good point guard.”
Of the 12 Redhawks who played Monday, nine are juniors or seniors.
Rob Martin, who led the Redhawks in scoring (11.9) and assists (3.5) last year, scored just six points versus Bradley.
Josh Earley, Southeast Missouri State’s only other returning starter from a year ago, didn’t play in the opener.
–Field Level Media
