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Basket-ball of Sunday, 22 February 2015

Source: tennessean.com

James Siakam led Vanderbilt with 13 rebounds

Vanderbilt kicked a team when it was down on Saturday, trouncing Missouri 76-53 at Memorial Gym.

The Commodores (15-12, 5-9 SEC) never trailed in posting their largest winning margin in an SEC game since a 72-31 victory over Mississippi State on Feb. 23, 2013. Missouri (7-20, 1-13) dropped its 13th straight, marking its longest losing streak in program history.

"I like how our team played today," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "… We made shots, and everything looks better when you make shots. We feel really good about this win."

Five players scored in double figures for Vanderbilt, which made a season-high 10 3-pointers.

"That opens up so much for everybody," freshman Riley LaChance said of the balanced scoring. "We start hitting shots and then getting buckets in transition, and everything runs smoothly."

Sophomore Damian Jones led Vanderbilt with 16 points (14 in the second half), seven rebounds and a season-high six blocks.

LaChance had an all-around performance with 11 points, a career-high nine rebounds and five assists. Freshman Wade Baldwin scored 13 points, and sophomore Luke Kornet added 11.

Freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis scored 11 points, all in Vanderbilt's 24-10 run to start the game.

"(Coaches) have been on to me about being more aggressive on the offensive end," Fisher-Davis said. "You've got to make a play and hit open shots."

Fisher-Davis was 3-of-3 from 3-point range to start the game, but he did not score again after the first 12 minutes. "We won by (23), so that's really irrelevant to me," he said.

The Commodores started the second half with a 24-8 run, extending a 37-29 advantage to a comfortable 61-37 lead and never looking back.

The Commodores dominated the boards, outrebounding the Tigers 46-26 and outscoring them 18-8 on second-chance points. James Siakam led Vanderbilt with 13 rebounds, and all nine of LaChance's boards were on the defensive end, leading to quick baskets in transition.

Missouri's longest losing streak topped its previous 12-game losing skids in 1965-66 and 1966-67. Its last win was a 74-67 victory in overtime versus LSU on Jan. 8.

"We keep getting punched in the mouth first, and it's affecting us," Missouri guard Keith Shamburger said. "We got to start off better as a group, simple as it gets. We got to start off hungry. (A) 7-20 (record), and we're playing like we're 13-1 in conference. So we got to turn that around and just play harder."

Vanderbilt freshman point guard Shelton Mitchell returned from a four-game absence because of concussion symptoms. He had two points, four assists and two rebounds in 11 minutes. Stallings said he hopes freshman forward Jeff Roberson, a starter, can return to the lineup soon.

VANDERBILT 76, MISSOURI 53