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Taylor leads Vanderbilt over Davidson

Jan 3, 2011 - 1:17 AM Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Jeffery Taylor dropped in a game-high 22 points to pace No. 24 Vanderbilt over Davidson, 80-52.

Brad Tinsley posted 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Tchiengang also scored 14 points for the Commodores (11-2), who were coming off a narrow 77-76 win over Marquette last Wednesday.

Chris Czerapowicz netted 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Wildcats (7-6), who had won four of five coming in.

"I don't think we responded [well] to the adversity we faced," Davidson head coach Bob McKillop said. "We've played a challenging schedule and I thought we should be better able to respond to them than we did today. It was very uncharacteristic."

Davidson routed lowly Saint Joseph's (Maine) its last time out and quickly realized it was up against tougher competition when the Commodores scored 15 straight points early on to take command.

Tchiengang hit a three-pointer to start the run, and Tinsley ended it with another make from long range for a 23-6 cushion nine minutes in.

De'Mon Brooks stopped the flurry with a putback layup, but another eight-point stretch by Vanderbilt quickly followed.

Over the first 20 minutes, the hosts hit 52 percent from the field and made 21-of-23 free throws for a healthy 52-24 advantage at the break.

"I was the most surprised person in the gym when the first half ended," Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings said. "[Davidson is] a much better team than they showed today."

The second half saw the lead reach 34 points when Tinsley's three-point play made it 66-32 with 12:50 remaining.

Game Notes

The programs played three times previously but had not met since 1985...Taylor became the 41st player to reach 1,000 career points in Vanderbilt history... Davidson has lost its past eight games against ranked opponents...The Wildcats' leading scorer, Jake Cohen, netted just two points on 1-of-7 shooting. He had averaged 14.9 ppg coming in...Davidson got to the foul line five times, making three...The Commodores shot 28-of-34 from the stripe.