Rapid Reaction: Vanderbilt advances past Belmont in NIT first round
By Keith Farner
Published:
Vanderbilt extended its season on Tuesday night in the NIT against close neighbor Belmont following a loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament last week.
The Commodores opened this week’s 32-team NIT in Memorial Coliseum, after a slow start, with an 82-71 victory over the Bruins. Vanderbilt saw Quentin Millora-Brown hit a fallaway jumper as the buzzer sounded for halftime to give Vanderbilt its first lead of the game. It was quite a turnaround for Vanderbilt after Belmont led by as much as 12 in the first half.
Vanderbilt clinched a winning record as it improved to 18-16 on the season.
Vanderbilt will play the winner of Dayton-Toledo, which play on Wednesday, on either Saturday or Sunday.
Belmont made the short trip to play Vanderbilt for the first time since 2016, and the Bruins came in with a 25-7 record.
Vanderbilt’s Jordan Wright finished with 24 points to lead 4 players in double figures after he had 15 points in the first half alone. Vanderbilt led despite Belmont shooting 5-9 from 3 in the first half, while Vanderbilt was 3-15 as the Commodores barely squeaked out a narrow 1-point lead at halftime.
Belmont went cold in the second half from behind the arc, and hit just 3-of-15 attempts.
“There goes that man again”
😤 @JoWright32_ pic.twitter.com/xJMVGY80La
— Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (@VandyMBB) March 16, 2022
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
