Vanderbilt held on to beat Georgia State 86-80
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Freshman Damian Jones and senior Rod Odom each scored 19 points to help Vanderbilt pull away for a season-opening win against visiting Georgia State, 86-80, Tuesday night.
The victory tied Commodores coach Kevin Stallings for most wins as Vanderbilt head coach (278) with Roy Skinner (1961-76).
Odom hit five 3-pointers for the game and sank a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds for an 84-80 lead. Eric McClellan, a transfer from Tulsa, added 18 points in his debut, including two fouls shots for the final points.
GSU transfer Ryan Harrow, who started 24 games last season for Kentucky, had a game-high 27 points for the Panthers (1-1). R.J. Hunter scored 21 points including three 3-pointers for Georgia State.
Jones hit a jumper and Dai-Jon Parker sank a 3-pointer to push Vanderbilt ahead 78-73. VU’s Kyle Fuller then hit a pair of free throws with 45.1 seconds left for the largest lead (80-74) since 8:09 remaining.
