Virginia Commonwealth used its signature full-court pressure defense to slow down Scotty Pippen Jr. and the up-tempo attack of Vanderbilt in a 48-37 victory Wednesday night in Nashville, Tenn.

On a night when he was slowed by foul trouble, Vince Williams Jr. hit four 3-pointers on his way to scoring 14 points to lead VCU (2-1). Jayden Nunn added 11 points and Nick Kern came off the bench to contribute eight points for the Rams, who rebounded from an upset loss Saturday at home to Wagner.

Vanderbilt (2-1) entered averaging 85 points per game, but the Commodores saw little daylight on the offensive end against VCU as they committed 21 turnovers and shot 22.6 percent from the floor, hitting just 2 of 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Pippen Jr., the SEC preseason player of the year who was coming off a 30-point performance on Sunday against Texas State, was limited to eight points as he hit 2 of 10 shots from the floor and committed five turnovers.

Jordan Wright led the Commodores with 15 points and seven rebounds.

After scoring Vanderbilt's first two buckets, Pippen Jr. was silent for the rest of the half. VCU's offense was sputtering as well, but Williams made a trio of 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes to help the Rams to a 19-13 lead.

Vandy rallied as Tyrin Lawrence scored four quick points and Wright added a layup and a 3-pointer. The nine points in a span of 1:14 allowed Vandy to gain the lead but it was short-lived.

VCU started the second half with a spurt as Williams made a 3-pointer and then added a fastbreak slam as Levi Stockard III picked Pippen Jr.'s pocket and found Williams upcourt for a 30-24 lead.

Later in the half, VCU took control with a 14-2 run. Nunn triggered it when penetrated the lane and fed Hason Ward for a slam dunk. Nunn then followed with a 3-pointer. A pair of baskets by Kern helped complete the spree, which gave the Rams a 44-28 lead with 7:44 left.

--Field Level Media