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Jenkins helps Vandy take down Auburn

Feb 20, 2011 - 12:18 AM Auburn, AL (Sports Network) - John Jenkins netted 22 points, including a 5- of-11 performance from three-point range, as No. 18 Vanderbilt used a big second half run to pull away from Auburn, 77-60.

Jeffery Taylor added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Commodores (20-6, 8-4 SEC), who have won five straight. Brad Tinsley added 16 points in the win.

Earnest Ross had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Tigers (9-17, 2-10), who are losers of two straight and four of the last five. Kenny Gabriel chipped in 13 points.

"We broke down defensively and stopped playing," Ross said. "We let go of the rope and we could not get stops defensively which we could convert into offense and make plays. It put us in a hole and when you cannot score the ball and when your defense stops, it makes it hard to win a game."

Tied at 42 just 5 1/2 minutes into the second, the Commodores separated themselves thanks to a 20-2 run.

The first half of the spurt was 14 straight points. Tinsley nailed a three- pointer, Jenkins hit two technical free throws and Andrew Walker was 1-of-2 from the line to go up 56-42.

"It was a huge four-minute war for us," Taylor said of the 14-point burst. "We made a lot of shots and made big plays on defense. Getting the stops and rebounds on defense helped us transition up to offense."

After Adrian Forbes' tip-in stopped the bleeding momentarily, the Commodores scored the next six points to finish out the huge run that spanned more than seven minutes.

Jenkins long jumper concluded the game-changing rally for a 62-44 edge with 7:40 to go. Vandy coasted to the win from there.

The first half was tightly matched as neither team got a lead bigger than five. Vanderbilt took a 28-26 edge into the break.

Game Notes

Vanderbilt leads the series 81-51 and has won the last five meetings...The Commodores shot 60 percent from the field in the second half as opposed to just a 36 percent performance in the first half...Auburn shot 44 percent from the felid...It was Ross' fifth double-double of the season.