Duke Miles concluded a week to remember with a 25-point outing and No. 24 Vanderbilt used a dominant first half to defeat Saint Mary’s 96-71 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis title on Friday in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Miles, who won this tournament with Oklahoma last season, paced the Commodores with 28 points in the opener against Western Kentucky and 20 in the semifinals against VCU. He added four rebounds, four assists and three steals Friday as Vanderbilt (8-0) never trailed and handed Saint Mary’s its first loss.
Jalen Washington had 19 points, Tyler Tanner scored 13 and Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton each added 11 for the Commodores, who maintained their torrid offensive pace to start the season. They shot 52.2% from the field with 48 points in the paint and 22 points on fast breaks.
Paulius Murauskas guided the Gaels (8-1) with 24 points and Mikey Lewis scored 19. Saint Mary’s shot 44.2% but played into Vanderbilt’s hand with 16 turnovers, which were turned into 20 points for the Commodores.
Saint Mary’s had pulled within 17-13 when Washington pulled up for a 3-pointer at the other end, kickstarting a 17-0 run for Vanderbilt.
Nickel added a 3-pointer after Saint Mary’s traveled, and the next six points came off Gaels turnovers. Tanner grabbed back-to-back steals and turned them into fastbreak layups, and soon free throws by McGlockton and Miles capped the outburst and made it 34-13 at the 8:34 mark of the half.
Lewis went 4 of 5 from the 3-point arc in the half to keep Saint Mary’s afloat; he and Murauskas combined for 26 of the team’s first-half points, while no teammate added more than two.
Washington’s layup with five seconds left put Vanderbilt ahead 51-34 at halftime.
Rory Hawke splashed a 3-pointer to kick off the second half and help Saint Mary’s begin a 10-2 run that cut its deficit to single digits. Miles converted a three-point play to make sure that moment was brief, putting the Commodores ahead 56-44 with 17:08 to go.
Vanderbilt never led by double digits the rest of the way, and a 7-0 run featuring three baskets from Miles restored the Commodores’ 20-point edge at 88-68 with 5:12 left.
It was a rematch of a first-round NCAA Tournament game from March, which Saint Mary’s won 59-56.
