Jordan Wright Leads Vanderbilt To Win Over Belmont In First Round Of NIT

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Photo: Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Jordan Wright‘s 24 points led the Commodores to a commanding 82-71 victory over Belmont in front of a loud and rowdy Memorial Gym in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night (March 15).

The Music City rivals met for the first time since 2017 when the Bruins picked up its first-ever win against Vanderbilt.

This time around, the ‘Dores, led by the play calling from Jerry Stackhouse, overwhelmed a 25-win Belmont team to advance in the tournament.

The Bruins started off hot, hitting 50% of their total shots and shooting 56% from the 3-point line. Belmont hit seven of its first 10 shots, which included all three from behind the arc.

Vandy went down 32-21 with about seven minutes to go in the first half, but would go on a 10-0 run in less than two and half minutes. Quentin Millora-Brown hit the basket at the buzzer to give Vandy a 39-38 lead, its first of the day.

In the second half, there was a lot of back-and-forth scoring, as well as defensive opportunities, giving both teams hope to win and advance.

Belmont was able to keep it close, tying up with about four minutes left in the game. However, the size of Millora-Brown and Liam Roberts, who scored 14 points, just outmatched the Bruins. The Commodores bench also came in clutch, scoring 19 points while Belmont’s bench scored just eight.

Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. started off slow, but ended up with 10 points and six assists.

Freshman Will Richard led Belmont in scoring with 22 points. He also led the team in rebounds with eight and three blocked shots. Team seniors Grayson Murphy (10 points) and Nick Muszynski (13 points) played well in the first half but struggled to compete against Vanderbilt’s size in the second half.

This was Vanderbilt’s first NIT win since 2015. They now move on to the second round of the NIT and will face the winner of the Dayton vs. Toledo matchup.

The date, time and location of that game are yet to be determined.

Steven Boero
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