After a disappointing showing in the Las Vegas Showdown, Vanderbilt came out flat and looked tight in an 80-62 loss to Boston College. Tonight’s loss is a quad-three loss, the third of the season for the Commodores.
At the 15-minute media timeout, Vandy had five points. Those struggles continued throughout the first half as the Eagles took a 44-23 lead into halftime.
After seeing minutes from walk on Graham Calton in the first half with Tyrin Lawrence and Ezra Manjon sitting on the bench for an extended period, the strategy of getting back into the game was in question
After the game, Jerry Stackhouse discussed the recent struggles, “I can’t really put a finger on it. We still haven’t really had our best five together at any point. Things are off a little bit right now, we have to find a way to settle those things.”
The second half wasn’t much different for Vanderbilt. At the 17-minute mark, Tyrin Lawrence finally tallied his first points of the night with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 48-27. That didn’t create much of a spark for the rest of the team, though.
Talented post player Quentin Post was the catalyst all night for Boston College, finishing with 22 points and 7 rebounds. In addition, Claudell Harris Jr. provided extra production for the visiting Eagles, finishing the night with 22 points.
The Vanderbilt coaching staff anticipated a tough challenge with Quentin Post prior to the game, and that was the case tonight. The veteran post player had his way with the Commodores all night.
Coach Stackhouse said, “He’s a load. They made shots and we just said, ‘Okay, it’s not going to be our night.’ That was the frustrating part for me.”
The Commodores were down by double digits for most of the first half and never threatened the Eagles, highlighted by a poor shooting night. Stackhouse’s group finished the night shooting 36% from the field and 30% from three-point range.
Anytime Vandy would trim the Eagles lead, Earl Grant’s team would hit a dagger that would put it back out of reach. With just over two minutes to play, the Commodores cut it to an 11-point game, but Boston College’s Mason Madsen drilled a three-pointer to put the game out of reach for good. Yet again, another effort at Memorial Gym for the home team was too little, too late.
For the Commodores, Ezra Manjon led the way with 16 points, while Jason Rivera-Torres added 11 points off the bench. On a tough night for Vandy, the hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth became even bleaker than they already were. With a 156 KenPom rating before tonight’s game, the Commodores are bound to fall back at least ten spots, making it even tougher to create an appealing resume for the committee.
The Commodores return to Memorial Gymnasium for a matchup against Alabama A&M at 4pm on Saturday.
