Hoggard hits a pair of late 3s to help Vanderbilt pull away for an 80-72 win over LSU in SEC opener

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A.J. Hoggard scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half to lead five in double figures and Vanderbilt beat LSU 80-72 on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Hoggard made two 3-pointers and was 4 of 6 from the floor after the break and finished 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Reserves Jaylen Carey and MJ Collins Jr. added 14 points apiece for Vanderbilt. Tyler Nickel scored 11 points and Jason Edwards had 10.

Cam Carter scored 20 points and made four of LSU’s five 3-pointers. Jordan Sears added 17 points and Corey Chest finished with 12 for the Tigers, who made half of their 48 field-goal attempts.

Vanderbilt (13-1) has won seven straight. LSU (11-3) dropped to 9-1 at home and ended a three-game winning streak.

Chest scored five points and Carter hit a 3 during an 11-2 run to give LSU its only lead of the second half, 56-55, with 6:34 remaining. Hoggard answered with two 3s and a free throw during a 9-1 spurt to help the Commodores pull away.

The Commodores scored 18 points from 15 LSU turnovers and outrebounded the Tigers 37-27.

LSU plays at Missouri on Tuesday.

Vanderbilt hosts No. 17 Mississippi State on Tuesday.

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