Vanderbilt handles Tulane

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Brian Thornton scored a career-high 20 points and Vanderbilt survived a sluggish offensive effort to defeat Tulane 66-46 Saturday. <br> <br> The Commodores (5-1) were held to a season-low in points by Tulane, which lost its second straight game. Tulane (3-4) also scored a season-low in points and failed to make a three-point shot in 13 attempts. <br> <br> Forward Matt Freije had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Vanderbilt, and Corey Smith scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. <br> <br> Brandon Brown led Tulane with 13 points and nine rebounds. <br> <br> Tulane hung close throughout the second half, pulling within 48-42 with 5:58 left on a bucket by Brown. Vanderbilt then went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to finally put the game away. <br> <br> Jason Holwerda started the burst with a fast-break layup, then stole the ball and fed Smith for a transition basket. Freije added a 3-pointer and Thornton closed the run with a 3-point play. <br> <br> Vanderbilt used a strong first-half defense to build at 31-21 lead at halftime. The Commodores held Tulane to 29.6 percent shooting from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the game&#39;s opening 20 minutes. Four different Commodores had blocked shots and Vanderbilt forced nine turnovers. <br> <br> Tulane missed all 13 3-point shots.<br> <br> Vanderbilt was not sharp offensively for much of the first half, but a 10-0 run early put the Commodores in front to stay. Vanderbilt turned a 4-2 deficit into a 12-4 lead on six points from Thornton and four from Smith. Vanderbilt&#39;s lead was never smaller than three the rest of the game.

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