Edwards scores 14 of his 18 in the second half, Vanderbilt secures 18 steals in 85-69 win over Cal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jason Edwards scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, Devin McGlockton added 16 points and Vanderbilt secured 18 steals in an 85-69 victory over California on Wednesday night.

Vanderbilt (3-0) scored 80-plus points for the third time this season - after doing so only twice last season. The Commodores are 3-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Grant Huffman and AJ Hoggard each made four steals as the Commodores’ total of 18 marked their most in a game since 1998 and is just two off a program record set in 1994.

Vanderbilt made 62% of its shots in the first half, despite making just 2 of 11 from 3-point range, to build a 49-31 lead. The Commodores had 11 steals to help score 20 points off turnovers.

Vanderbilt had its lead trimmed to 61-52 before forcing a turnover on back-to-back possessions, leading to fast-break layups by MJ Collins Jr. and Tyler Tanner to make it a 13-point lead. Tanner, who finished with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer a couple of minutes later for a 68-52 lead.

Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 points for California (2-1). BJ Omot added 15 points, DJ Campbell had 12 and Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 11.

Cal was off to its first 2-0 start since the 2019-20 season.