Scotty Pippen Jr. did all he could. He just didn’t have much help.

Vanderbilt’s standout guard – who consistently leads the team each and every night – scored a career-high 32 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Commodores suffered a 78-71 loss against Florida on Wednesday night at the Stephen O’Connell Center in Gainesville.

"We fought harder and played harder than we did the past couple of games," Pippen said. "We continued to fight and continued to fight, but it wasn't enough. We're just more locked in. It's all about coming out and competing and making sure we play hard."

While Pippen scored his 32 points, Dylan Disu was the next closest player with 18 points while no one else scored more than 7. Vandy (4-8 overall, 0-6 Southeastern Conference) shot 25 of 58 (43%) from the field, 8 of 22 (36%) from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.

Florida – led by 15 points from Tre Mann and 13 from Colin Castleton – finished 28 of 54 (52%) from the floor, 10 of 23 (43%) from deep and had 15 turnovers.

VU is scheduled to host South Carolina on Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Vanderbilt scored the first points of the game with a layup by Pippen, but quickly went cold and allowed Florida to go on a 9-0 run and build a 7-point lead at the 17:27 mark of the first half.

A Jordan Wright 3 – followed by a jumper by Pippen – cut the Commodores’ deficit to 11-9 before Scottie Lewis scored on back-to-back possessions for the Gators to put them up 15-9 at the 12:01 mark. Another basket by Lewis, and a 3 from Noah Locke, then made it 20-10.

Pippen continued to execute, knocking down a 3 of his own to bring Vandy within 23-15, and Ejike Obinna’s dunk had the ‘Dores down just four at 27-23 with 6:04 remaining in the half.

Florida used an 8-0 run to go up 35-25 with 3:50 left and ultimately took a 37-29 advantage into the locker room at the break.

The Gators opened up a 47-31 lead at the 15:08 mark of the second half, and were soon leading 51-33 at the 13:27 mark after Osayi Osifo’s layup. Florida continued to control things – building a 57-35 advantage with 9:52 to go.

Vanderbilt made a late run and got within 73-67 with 1:24 left and 73-69 with 33 seconds to go, but it didn't have enough time to complete a comeback.

"Tonight, we played a really good team," Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said. "I thought our guys fought. We came out and got hit in the mouth a little bit, but we got a little bit of a rhythm in the second half. It just wasn't enough against a team that was hitting shots."

Pippen puts the team on his back

Scotty Pippen Jr. is always leading Vanderbilt. He did that – and more – against Florida.

Pippen scored 12 of the Commodores’ first 15 points and was already up to 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting at halftime. The next closest players on the stat sheet after 20 minutes of action were Dylan Disu and Ejike Obinna with 4 points apiece.

Pippen was nearly unstoppable for VU in the first half – and throughout the whole game, finishing with his career-high 32 points on 12 of 22 shooting. If it weren’t for Pippen, the ‘Dores would’ve scored just 39 points as a team.

"I just take what the defense gives me," Pippen said. "Tonight, it was scoring."

Defense struggle yet again

Vanderbilt has mightily struggled on the defensive end this season. The Commodores were bad last Saturday against Arkansas as they allowed 92 points, and they were again not very good on Wednesday by allowing Florida to put up 78 points.

The Gators shot 28 of 54 (52%) from the field, 10 of 23 (43%) from 3 and had 9 different players score – with 5 finishing in double figures. They shot 50% – including a 53.8% clip from deep – in the first half and remained hot throughout the second half en route to the win.

"I think we have to work on our field goal defense," Stackhouse said. "My magic number is about 42 or 43 (percent for opponents shooting). That's going to be the real telling time when we get to where we want our defense at. That's going to give us our opportunity to win games."

NOTES:

– Vanderbilt started Scotty Pippen Jr., Trey Thomas, Jordan Wright, Dylan Disu and Ejike Obinna.

– Quentin Millora-Brown was inactive for the second straight game.

– VU is scheduled to host South Carolina on Saturday night in Nashville.