NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Damian Jones scored a career-high 24 points, while freshman Riley LaChance added 13 and Luke Kornet scored 10 to lead Vanderbilt to an 83-56 season-opening win over Trevecca Nazarene on Sunday.
Jones, a preseason All-SEC first-team selection, was 10 of 13 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds as Vanderbilt overwhelmed Trevecca, which is transitioning to NCAA Division II.
Trevecca managed to keep it close trailing 33-30 at the half, but Vanderbilt opened the second half on a 13-0 run, which included a couple spectacular dunks by Jones.
Three freshmen, including LaChance, started for Vanderbilt, which is in a major rebuilding mode. The team had only seven scholarship players a year ago and must now rely heavily on a rotation of five freshmen.
Jones, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, La., will be asked to lead the Commodores and that's what he did against overmatched Trevecca, which is about a 15 minute drive from Vanderbilt.
Jalen Palm led the Trojans with 11 points.
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