Sat Jan 5 18:57:30 2008

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Vanderbilt tops UMass for 15th straight win

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Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - A.J. Ogilvy scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, to lead 15th-ranked Vanderbilt over Massachusetts, 97-88, at Memorial Gym.

Shan Foster dropped 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Vanderbilt (15-0), which remain unblemished on the season and is off to the best start in program history. Jermaine Beal chipped in with 19 points in the victory.

Ricky Harris had a team-high 25 points for the Minutemen (11-3), who had a six-game winning streak broken. Gary Forbes and Chris Lowe each added 22 points, with Forbes contributing seven boards as well.

UMass surprised Vanderbilt early, opening the game on a 17-7 run, capped with five straight Harris points with 13:35 remaining in the first half. The Minutemen later increased that lead to 27-13 on a Tony Gaffney free throw with just under ten minutes left.

Two Foster three-pointers sandwiched a 17-2 Vanderbilt run that saw the Commodores pull ahead 30-29 with four and a half minutes left in the half.

The teams exchanged baskets down the stretch and the Minutemen eventually took a 37-36 lead into the locker room.

The Minutemen outscored the Commodores 13-5 to start the second half, en route to opening up a nine-point lead, 50-41, with just over three minutes gone.

Vanderbilt fought back, using a 15-8 run to close within two. The Commodores then kept chipping away and finally went ahead, 67-65, on Keegan Bell's trey at 9:23.

The home squad continued to run in front the rest of the way, though UMass pulled within three on two Lowe free throws with just over seven minutes left. However, a 9-0 Vanderbilt run put the Commodores up 84-72 with 4:06 left in the game. UMass would never threaten again, managing to close within six before Vanderbilt would rebuild its cushion.

Game Notes

Vanderbilt shot 56.5 percent from three-point land, while UMass hit only 33.3 percent from behind the arc...Commodore Darshawn McClellan had nine rebounds and teammate Alex Gordon doled out seven assists...Minuteman Etienne Brower had nine points to match his nine assists and Dante Milligan grabbed seven rebounds... The Commodores will play at South Carolina on January 9, while UMass will host Saint Joseph's the same day.