NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Reserve Lance Goulbourne scored 11 of his career-high 18 points in the second half and No. 22 Vanderbilt held off LSU for a 77-69 victory Saturday.
Despite blowing an eight-point lead in the second half, Vanderbilt (19-5, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) avoided a letdown after Tuesday’s big win over instate rival Tennessee.
Tied at 59 with just over 4 minutes left, the Commodores went on a 9-2 run to pull away.
The Tigers (9-16, 0-11) have lost 13 straight SEC regular-season games. The streak dates to last season when they lost their last two league games after clinching the conference championship.
Jermaine Beal scored 17 points, Jeffery Taylor added 15 and A.J. Ogilvy had 12 for Vanderbilt.
Tasmin Mitchell scored 20 points, Bo Spencer added 18, Storm Warren had 12 and Dennis Harris had 10 for LSU.
Vanderbilt went ahead for good on a rare 3-pointer by Steve Tchiengang. It was the third 3 of the season for the 6-foot-9 forward and it gave the Commodores a 34-33 lead with more than 18 minutes remaining.
It also woke up the sellout crowd at Memorial Gymnasium and was the start of a 10-0 run. Taylor’s layup with 14:44 to go gave the Commodores’ their biggest lead — 41-33 — to that point.
But LSU scored the next seven points to pull within one.
The game stayed close after that, with Vanderbilt never leading by more than five points.
Garrett Green’s dunk with 4:02 left tied the game, but Ogilvy responded on the other end with a basket. He missed the free throw but Goulbourne was there for a big putback.
After Mitchell scored inside, Ogilvy hit two more free throws and Beal tacked on a three-point play for a 68-61 lead with 2:06 left.
Despite playing without starter Andre Walker, who was out with a shoulder injury, Vanderbilt proved to be too physical inside. LSU’s big men — Green, Harris and Warren — all fouled out.
In the first half, the Commodores shot a season-low 29.6 percent, including 3 of 12 from beyond the 3-point arc. Taylor, coming off of a 26-point performance against Tennessee on Tuesday, led Vanderbilt with eight points in the first half but was just 1 of 6 from the field.
LSU took advantage of the Commodores’ shooting woes. Spencer and Warren combined for 21 points in the first half and the Tigers led by as many as six.
Vanderbilt crept back thanks in large part to 9-of-13 shooting from the free throw line. The Commodores tied it at 24-24 with more than 3 minutes left before Spencer scored LSU’s last five points as the Tigers took a 29-28 halftime lead.
 
 
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