Vanderbilt 75, Saint Mary’s 64: Damian Jones recorded 21 points and seven rebounds as the visiting Commodores rolled past the Gaels in the first round of the NIT.

Riley LaChance scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Jeff Roberson added 10 off the bench for fifth-seeded Vanderbilt (20-13), which faces No. 8 seed South Dakota State in the second round. Jones overcame early foul trouble and was 10-of-14 from the field as the Commodores won for the sixth time in their last seven games.

Garrett Jackson led No. 4 seed Saint Mary’s (21-10) with 23 points and nine rebounds while Aaron Bright chipped in 17 points. Leading scorer Brad Waldow had 12 points on 4-of-11 from the floor along with 13 boards for the Gaels, who shot 38.1 percent – including 3-of-18 from 3-point range – and closed with three straight losses.

Vanderbilt trailed by nine midway through the opening period before taking a 36-28 lead into the break after closing on a 25-9 run. Jones, who was limited to 11 minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls, scored seven straight Vanderbilt points to extend the lead to 51-41 with just over 12 minutes remaining.

The Commodores blocked a season-high 11 shots and turned away Saint Mary’s comeback effort as LaChance snapped an 0-for-6 skid beyond the arc by drilling a 3-pointer to push the lead to 60-51 with 4:55 left. LaChance contributed five assists, four rebounds and four steals for the Commodores, who survived 4-of-17 shooting from 3-point range.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Jones has 39 points and 22 rebounds in his last two games. … G Kerry Carter was held to four points – 8.4 below his average – on 0-of-7 shooting for Saint Mary’s, which fell to 0-3 all-time against Vanderbilt. … G Wade Baldwin IV had 10 points for the Commodores, who improved to 13-4 when leading at the half.