Thursday, March 5, 2009

Tidbits from win over No. 11 LSU

By Barca Blog - Some notes from Vanderbilt's 75-67 victory at No. 11 LSU. For complete coverage, click here.

Aint no stoppin' Ogilvy

LSU had no answer for A.J. Ogilvy.

Ogilvy, who outweighed LSU center Chris Johnson by 40 pounds, abused the Tigers in the paint all game long. The sophomore sensation's monster night included a career high 33 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

"A.J. was unbelievable," head coach Kevin Stallings told Joe Fisher in the postgame show. "We just wanted to try and get the ball to A.J and see if he could do some work and he was obviously on his game tonight.

After battling a bruised right heel and as well as an upper respiratory virus in January, A.J. has returned to form, scoring career highs in back-to-back outings. He led the 'Dores with 28 points in a win over South Carolina last Saturday.

Just check out his stat line in last two games: 24-for-32 from the field with 61 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks.

Nasty... Boy

Vanderbilt went into the locker room with a 37-26 lead at the half capped off with by Jermaine Beal's thrilling one-handed dunk just before the buzzer.

"You always want momentum going into the locker room," Stallings said. "I don't know how big it was, but it sure was impressive. That was as nasty as it gets when it comes to dunks. I was impressed to say the least. I didn't even know Jermaine could dunk the ball. He did it with emphasis on that one."

Just listen to Fisher's call of the dunk and use your imagination for the time being.

You can count on me

LSU stormed back in the second half and even tied the game at one point, but never regained the lead, thanks in large part to Brad Tinsley's two three-pointers in the final five minutes.

After Tasmin Mitchell missed a layup with the Tigers down 61-60, Tinsley respond by knocking down a three-pointer -- his first successful shot of the game -- to stretch the lead to four with 4:43 left. LSU would pull within two points in the closing minute after Mitchell's free throws made it 68-66, but Tinsley once again put the dagger in the Tigers on the next possession with another bucket from long range to clinch the win.

Tinsley finished the night only 2-for-7 from the field with eight points, but his two treys ended up being the biggest shots of the game.

"Brad's a gutty kid," Stallings said. "I don't think he played his best game, but he certainly hit huge shots. I'll take him every day of the week. I love the way he plays and he's had an outstanding freshman year and has really done a great job for us."

Listen to the radio call of Tinsley's second three.

Signature, anyone?

Vanderbilt's young squad showed they can play with the best in the league in front of a hostile environment.

The Commodores (18-11, 7-8 SEC) picked up their biggest win of the season Wednesday (and first over a ranked team) against a LSU squad (25-5, 13-2) that had won 13 SEC games in a row and already clinched the SEC regular season championship. It was the 'Dores second SEC road win of the year, and the Tigers' first home loss in conference play.

Stallings said on the win: "I told our team, 'You know, we really haven't had a signature win all season long and this might be our last chance.' You go on the road and face the No. 11 team in the country and you're going to have to play one of your best games of the season to get it done. I'm really proud of the way our team has played and how we've responded since that Georgia game. Hopefully we've got a lot of basketball left."

It should be noted that after a 1-5 SEC start, the Commodores have fought back to win six of their last nine, including impressive back-to-back victories over LSU and SEC East leader South Carolina.

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