NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyler Tanner had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 21 Vanderbilt overcame a poor shooting night to defeat Wake Forest 74-51 on Thursday at Memorial Gymnasium.
Ace Glass scored 16 points and Anthony Brown Jr. added 14 for the Commodores (2-0), who outrebounded the Demon Deacons 48-33 and collected 17 offensive rebounds.
Vanderbilt shot 39% from the field but limited Wake Forest (1-1) to 35% shooting. The Commodores committed seven turnovers while forcing 12.
The 51 points allowed were the second-fewest under coach Mark Byington, trailing only the 47 Vanderbilt surrendered against Bellarmine in Monday’s season opener.
Tanner struggled offensively for much of the game, starting 2 of 10 before making his final four shots. Glass and Brown provided scoring support, helping Vanderbilt maintain control while its leading scorer worked through the slow start.
“You’ve got to win in different ways,” Byington said.
Byington credited scoring stretches from Brown and Glass and praised Chandler Bing’s contributions on both ends of the floor. Their performances highlighted the lineup options available to a team that has placed greater emphasis on size and defense.
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes pointed to Vanderbilt’s physical play and ability to rotate players through the frontcourt and backcourt as challenges for the Demon Deacons.
The Commodores’ interior depth includes Berke Buyuktuncel, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Bangot Dak and Jayden Leverett. Brown’s ability to share the floor with Tanner also gives Byington another option alongside Glass in smaller lineups.
That flexibility helped Vanderbilt withstand shooting struggles beyond Tanner’s early misses. Buyuktuncel finished 2 of 9 from the field, Dak went 1 of 7 and T.O. Barrett was 1 of 4. Williams-Adams made one of his three attempts.
The Commodores also missed opportunities around the basket, converting two of five dunk attempts and 12 of 24 layups. Their rebounding advantage helped offset those misses by creating additional possessions.
Bing said Vanderbilt has enough scoring options to respond when individual players struggle.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can make shots, a lot of guys that can make plays,” he said.
Through two games, Vanderbilt has held both opponents below 52 points. Against Wake Forest, that defense and a balanced scoring effort were enough to secure a second consecutive victory.
