Vanderbilt improved to 4-0 on the season, while the Red Storm fell to 3-1. Patrick McCaw has been strong on both ends of the floor for the Rebels, as the 6-7 guard is averaging 16.7 points through the first three games while being a disruptive force on defense. The team’s leading scorer and rebounder last season had 21 points and six rebounds against MI State, his best game since suffering a sprained knee in early March against West Virginia, which caused him to miss the next two games and affected his production in the postseason.
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~ Jeff Roberson leads the way for Vanderbilt with 11 points in 12 minutes.
McCaw will likely be matched against UCLA wing Isaac Hamilton, who has played better the last two games following his 0-for-6 shooting performance against Monmouth.
The Red Storm had difficulty creating shots offensively because of Vanderbilt’s length and defensive prowess. St. John’s had made two of 18 in the same span.
Christian Jones, eight points and five rebounds, was fearless near the rim but struggled to finish against Vandy’s three seven-footers, Damian Jones, Josh Henderson and Luke Kornet.
The biggest lead was 41 points with 2:31 to play. Stallings had a chance to give players more minutes than normal. Their bench has scored 26 while St. John’s’ bench has not accounted for anything.
St. John’s played without freshman guard Malik Ellison (foot) and junior college transfer forward Darien Williams (shoulder). Parker had 19 points and 19 rebounds in the team’s season opener against Monmouth (Nov. 13) and followed up that performance with 16 points and 14 rebounds versus Cal Poly (Nov. 15).
UCLA will play either No. 4-ranked Kansas or Chaminade University on Tuesday, November 24, in the Bruins’ second game of the Maui Invitational.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are 3-0 and are coming off of a win against Stony Brook by a score of 79-72 in overtime.
The eight-team tournament begins Monday morning with a matchup between St. John’s (3-0) and No. 17 Vanderbilt (3-0).
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St. John’s: IN in Maui Invitational consolation round.
