Things started slowly for Vanderbilt on Friday night, as the Commodores led 21-17 about midway through the first half against the South Carolina State Bulldogs. But a 20-3 run over seven minutes gave Vanderbilt a considerable cushion, and the Commodores went into halftime leading 47-26. At halftime, Clevon Brown already had 13 points, with Aaron Nesmith scoring 12 and Dylan Disu 10.
South Carolina State would make things at least sort of interesting to open the second half, though, opening the second frame on a 16-5 run that cut the Vanderbilt lead to 10.