South Carolina hammers Vandy on the road

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - South Carolina coach Dave Odom never doubted his defense. <br> <br> ``I think defensively we played very well today,&#39;&#39; Odom said of his team&#39;s 66-43 victory over Vanderbilt Saturday. ``I was not surprised with our defensive effort, because I know we&#39;re capable of shutting down teams.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Gamecocks (15-10, 5-7 Southeastern Conference) avenged an earlier loss to Vanderbilt by holding the Commodores (14-11, 4-8) to 26 percent shooting and forcing 20 turnovers. <br> <br> The 43 points were the fewest points for Vandy since 1998, and it was the Commodores&#39; worst loss in six years. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m probably about as disappointed as I&#39;ve ever been about the way my team played,&#39;&#39; Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. ``It should not be possible for me and my coaching staff to put a team out there that performed the way we did. South Carolina was just better in every way than us.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Jamel Bradley, who had 14 points, nailed four 3-pointers to pace the Gamecocks&#39; attack. Carlos Howell scored 11 points and Chuck Eidson added 10. <br> <br> South Carolina went on a 20-2 run over a 10-minute stretch in the first half to take control of the game. The Gamecocks led 38-20 at halftime and maintained that lead throughout the second half with the margin topping out at 28. <br> <br> Senior Chuck Moore led Vanderbilt with 13 points, 9 of which came in the first half. Leading scorer Matt Freije was held to just 8 and Brendon Plavich, the SEC&#39;s top 3-point shooter, was 0-6 from 3-point range and scored just two points. <br> <br> ``I think the most remarkable part of our effort was that it came after one of our most disappointing losses of the year,&#39;&#39; said Odom, referring to South Carolina&#39;s 52-51 loss to Alabama on Wednesday. ``We came back after having a chance to beat Alabama, one of the best teams in the country, and bounced back very well today.&#34;