NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jeffery Taylor scored 22 points to lead four Vanderbilt players in double figures and the 24th-ranked Commodores beat Davidson 80-52 on Sunday.
Brad Tinsley and Steve Tchiengang both added 14 points for the Commodores (11-2), while Festus Ezeli had 12. Tinsley, a 6-foot-3 guard, was the game's leading rebounder with 10.
Vanderbilt played without leading scorer John Jenkins and starting forward Andre Walker, who were both out with injuries.
Jenkins, a sophomore shooting guard who is averaging 17.8 points per game, and Walker, a 6-7 junior who averages 4.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists, both sustained injuries in practice. Jenkins suffered a concussion Saturday, and twisted an ankle on Friday when he stepped on the foot of teammate Joe Duffy.
Freshman Chris Czerapowicz had 16 points to lead Davidson (7-6). Jake Cohen, the Wildcats' leading scorer at 14.9 points, was held to a season-low two points. He fouled out with 9:06 to play.
Vanderbilt used a 15-0 run to take a 23-6 lead with 11:05 to go in the first half. Tchiengang started the run with a 3-pointer on the right wing, and Tinsley capped it 5 minutes later with a 3-pointer from almost the identical spot.
The Commodores pushed the lead to 52-24 at halftime, shooting 52 percent (13 of 25) in the opening 20 minutes while limiting Davidson to just 28.9 percent (11 of 38).
Taylor had 16 points in the first half and Tinsley had 11. The Commodores were just too much for the Wildcats on the defensive end, blocking six shots and forcing nine turnovers. They outscored Davidson 21-0 at the free throw line in the half.
Davidson's biggest deficit all season had been 19 points to West Virginia. Vanderbilt surpassed that with 8:26 to go in the first half.
Junior Lance Goulbourne, who was in his first game back following an NCAA-mandated two-game suspension, started in place of Walker for Vanderbilt. Freshman Rod Odom started in place of Jenkins, who had started all 12 games this season and was coming off his worst performance, a 4-of-21 shooting effort against Marquette on Wednesday.
The Marquette game was Walker's first game back after missing four games with mononucleosis and he had a solid all-around game — seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Taylor became the 41st player in Vanderbilt history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
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