NASHVILLE – It wasn't easy. Playing at Vanderbilt never is. But in what felt like a must-win game for Auburn, the Tigers responded with a pivotal 64-53 road win over the Commodores on Saturday to improve to 17-8 (6-6) on the season.
It was the program's first win at Vanderbilt since 2000.
"It was just our effort, our energy, our defense," senior Malik Dunbar said. "We really stayed with it. I feel like we came together through our losses. We fought through it, and we picked up a good win. We needed this win."
"The communication in the huddle was about winning," added head coach Bruce Pearl. "It was about getting stops. It was about executing. They came here to win, and we made some progress."
Dunbar was instrumental in the victory with 13 points off the bench, including a corner 3-point shot with a minute-and-a-half left to extend Auburn's lead to seven and all but put the game out of reach. The senior played 30 minutes and also grabbed five rebounds.
The assist on Dunbar's 3 came from point guard Jared Harper, who led the Tigers with 16 point and eight assists. Harper was especially good in the second half as he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers early to put Auburn up 40-31. Then down the stretch, it was one great pass after another as he continually set up his teammates in big moments.
"He was the quarterback," Pearl said. "He was the captain of that team out there. He got guys really good looks, and I thought he competed."
Fellow guard Bryce Brown scored 14 points and knocked down 3 of his 6 attempts from long range. But more importantly, the backcourt duo of Harper and Brown locked down Saben Lee and held Vanderbilt's leading scorer to just four points and two assists.
It was that defensive effort that proved to be the difference whether it was the first half when the Tigers were struggling to make shots or down the stretch when they needed a stop. They forced a total of 19 turnovers that led to 17 Auburn points, and they held the Commodores to 33 percent (16 of 48) from the field and 22 percent (5 of 23) from beyond the arc.
"Our defense was really good," Pearl said. "We turned them over 19 times. We did a good job of pressing up on those 3 balls. I thought our coaches had an excellent scout, and I thought our kids made a lot of winning plays."
Coming off a career night against Ole Miss on Wednesday, sophomore Chuma Okeke once again finished in double figures with 13 points and added a team-high six rebounds.
Next up for Auburn is a date with Arkansas inside Auburn Arena on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf