NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Riley LaChance scored 19 points to lead a Vanderbilt comeback as the Commodores rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat South Carolina 65-50 at Memorial Gym on Saturday.
The Commodores (13-10, 3-7 Southeastern Conference) trailed 41-27 with 13:46 left before rallying.
An 18-0 run triggered the comeback for Vanderbilt, which has won two straight since ending a seven-game losing streak in Tuesday’s win over Florida. LaChance made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Vanderbilt a 45-43 lead with 8:25 left. South Carolina (11-11, 2-8) has lost six of its last seven games.
James Siakam added 16 points for Vanderbilt and Wade Baldwin IV scored 12.
Sindarius Thornwell led the Gamecocks with 12 points and Duane Notice added 10.
South Carolina has lost 20 of its last 21 SEC road games, including a 0-5 record this season.
Matthew Fisher-Davis’ foul shot gave Vanderbilt an 11-4 lead with 12:26 left in the first half as South Carolina missed five of its first six shots from the floor.
The Gamecocks answered with a 12-2 run to take a 16-13 lead on Marcus Stroman’s free throw with 5:33 left in the first half.
Brian Steele’s 3-pointer with two seconds left gave South Carolina a 26-22 halftime lead.
Vanderbilt, the top-shooting team in the SEC, shot only 38.1 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Commodores missed six of their first seven 3-point shots.
South Carolina scored the first seven points of the second half, expanding its lead to 33-22 on Duane Notice’s layup.
Thornwell’s 3-pointer increased the Gamecocks’ lead to 39-27 with 14:49 left.
Vanderbilt started to rally, narrowing the deficit to 43-35 on Damian Jones’ dunk with 11:41 left.
Siakam’s 3-point play cut the deficit to 43-38 with 10:41 left.
Injuries have reduced the Gamecocks’ roster to 10 healthy players, but their bench still managed to outscore the Commodores’ 15-6.
Vanderbilt point guard Shelton Mitchell, who suffered a concussion in Thursday’s practice, didn’t dress for the game. Mitchell (4.6 ppg, 3 apg) has started 11 games.
South Carolina’s last win in Nashville was in March, 2010.
The loss dropped South Carolina into 13th place in the 14-team SEC. Vanderbilt is in 12th.
Vanderbilt has won 13 of the last 17 against South Carolina.
South Carolina is trying to avoid a sixth straight losing season.
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TIP-INS
South Carolina: The spotlight of women’s basketball will be on the top-ranked Gamecocks when they take a 22-0 record into Monday’s showdown at No. 2 Connecticut, the two-time defending national champions.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores are two wins away from tying last year’s total (15-16.)
UP NEXT
South Carolina hosts Missouri, the last-place team in the SEC, on Tuesday.
Vanderbilt hosts archrival Tennessee on Wednesday.