Ogilvy Career-Best 27 Points
in Vandy SEC Tourney Win
www.vucommodores.com
14 Mar 2008
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) - Andrew Ogilvy (Sydney) handled things on the inside. Shan Foster took care of the outside.
It proved to be a devastating 1-2 punch for Vanderbilt.
Ogilvy, a lumbering freshman from Australia, scored a career-best 27 points and Foster was right behind with 26, leading the Commodores (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) past Auburn 93-82 in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday.
Vanderbilt (26-6) shot 67 percent (33 of 49) from the field, falling just short of the tournament record. The Commodores advanced to face Arkansas in the quarterfinals Friday.
Ogilvy, a 6-foot-11 center who towered over the Tigers, teamed with Foster to provide an unstoppable inside-outside punch for the Commodores. The big man made 12 of 13 shots, nearly all of them gimmes after he got loose underneath. He did step out to hit one long jumper with his foot on the 3-point line.
Foster, the SEC's top scorer and named player of the year by the league's coaches earlier in the week, handled most of the outside shooting. The 6-6 senior connected on 6 of 9 from beyond the arc to add another notch to his brilliant season, giving him at least 20 points in six straight games and 19 overall.
"We really made an emphasis with our team not to take quick 3s, and make a few extra passes and see if we could put the ball in A.J.'s hands," coach Kevin Stallings said. "As a result, not only did A.J. touch it more but Shan touched it more."
Vanderbilt built a double-digit lead 5 1/2 minutes into the game, and was comfortably out front most of the first half with the Big Two leading the way. Foster had 19 points and Ogilvy 14 by halftime.
Auburn (14-16) will miss out on a postseason berth for the fifth year in a row. The Tigers got a taste of what they were in for right from the start.
Ogilvy scored on his first three shots, then Foster swished a 3. After Ogilvy slipped inside for another easy basket, Alex Gordon connected on a 3 that made it 14-4 and forced Tigers coach Jeff Lebo to call a quick timeout.
"I got a couple of good looks and I felt like I pretty much played myself into a good position," Ogilvy said.
The Tigers simply didn't have anyone who could guard the Vanderbilt center, who was 3 inches taller than anyone in their two-forward, three-guard lineup.
"It was hard for our kids against Ogilvy," Lebo said. "He is savvy and he has size. It reminds me of playing in the backyard against my 6-year-old son. I can beat him anytime I want to." Full Story
SEC Tournament Central
