How those things fit together is where you gain your confidence. When

LAS VEGAS -- After two straight losses, Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew was hoping something would spark his Commodores.Turns out the Thanksgiving loss to Butler in the Continental Las Vegas Invitational semifinals established a toughness and resiliency into his players.Luke Kornet had 18 points and six rebounds to lead Vanderbilt, which held off feisty Santa Clara in a 76-66 win on Friday night at the Orleans Arena.We had some adversity on this trip, and I think we played a lot harder out here, and (were) a lot tougher, Drew said. Butler is a team that makes you play tough, so I think that game made us a lot tougher for tonights game. Hopefully that toughness will continue into our next.Riley LaChance added 17 points, Matthew Fisher-Davis had 13 and Jeff Roberson added 12 for Vanderbilt (3-3).Jared Brownridge led Santa Clara with 36 points. It was the seniors ninth career game with 30 or more points.The Commodores outmuscled Santa Clara (3-4) in the paint, finishing with a 32-21 rebounding edge. Vanderbilt also got better contribution from its bench, as its reserves outscored Santa Claras, 10-4.Vanderbilt shot 14 of 26 from the field in the first half to build a 41-23 lead at halftime. The Commodores hot perimeter shooting coupled with Santa Claras stagnant offense that produced 10-of-24 shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes.In the first half, early on, we certainly were in a zone hitting our shots, Kornet said. Defensively, we tried to keep them of the 3-point line as much as we can and make shots hard for them.But the Broncos wouldnt go away, opening the second half on a 17-3 run to cut the 18-point deficit down to 44-40 with 13 minutes left in the game. Led by Brownridges 10 points during the run, the Broncos feisty defense frustrated the Commodores to just 1-of-10 shooting during that stretch.Santa Clara got as close as 46-44 with 10:21 left, but the Commodores regained their touch and used a 13-3 run to distance themselves. The closed the game hitting nine of their last 12 shots from the floor.BIG PICTURESanta Clara: After playing four games in seven days, including Thanksgiving night against No. 8 Arizona, the Broncos return to Northern California and will get a five-day reprieve before their next game. Santa Clara will travel home Saturday and take the weekend off before getting back to practice on Monday.Vanderbilt: While the Commodores may still be getting used to first-year coach Bryce Drews system, they warmed up Saturday night with their best performance from long range. Vandys 15 3s topped its previous game-high of 10, against Norfolk State on Nov. 18. The Commodores had 10 at halftime.KEY MOMENTAfter the Broncos closed to 46-44, Roberson buried a pair of 3-pointers during an 11-3 spurt to spark Vanderbilt.CAREER NUMBERSIn his first career start, Willis eight assists were a career high, as was his 32 minutes and four 3-point attempts. The freshmans four rebounds tied his previous career high, set against Norfolk State.ON THE RIGHT TRACKBrownridge continues to build on his career scoring total which is second on Santa Claras all-time list. The preseason all-West Coast Conference selection moved from fifth to second all-time in the first two games of the season, and currently has 1,861 points through the teams first seven games. Nevertheless, the senior is well behind all-time leader Kevin Foster, who scored 2,423 from 2008-13.UP NEXTSanta Clara: The Broncos are off until next Wednesday when theyll host fellow California mid-major UC Irvine.Vanderbilt: The Commodores return home to host Tennessee State on Tuesday in what will be their first game back in Nashville since losing to Bucknell there on Nov. 21.---This story has been corrected to fix the spelling throughout of the last name of Luke Kornet. Brandon Williams Color Rush Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Cheap . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. 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LA VILLA, Italy -- His back ravaged by a shooting pain that stretches all the way down his leg, Olympic giant slalom champion Ted Ligety can hardly ski at all these days.No wonder he lost control and slid out several gates into his opening run down the steep and dark Gran Risa course Sunday.Ive been getting injections and trying to get it sorted out but it hasnt really turned the corner yet, Ligety said. I just got to try to figure out how to calm it down. Theres not a direct, easy way of doing that.Backs and nerve issues are not like a knee thats cut and dry and you know what you need to do, Ligety added. Its really dependent person by person and situation by situation.Marcel Hirscher of Austria won the race to match Italian great Alberto Tomba for a record fourth GS win on the Gran Risa.Having already been slowed by back problems at the start of last season, Ligety tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a training accident in Germany in January.He returned to action in this seasons opening race in Soelden, Austria, in October, finishing fifth. Since then, its been a struggle for the Park City, Utah, resident, who has had three herniated disks in his career.Ligety will sit out a parallel GS on Monday.We got to get thiss physically taken care of so he can get his rhythm and timing back, U.dddddddddddd.S. head coach Sasha Rearick said. For any great champion its not technical its just the rhythm and timing of the movements. How those things fit together is where you gain your confidence. When you cant train, your rhythm and timing go off.Ligety has won 24 World Cup GS races, second only to Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmarks record of 46. Four years ago, Ligety won the first run by an almost unheard of 2.40 seconds en route to his second win in Alta Badia.At this point, Ligety is looking forward to the announced rule change for next season and the return of more modern and more extremely shaped skis, which are easier to turn.Thats going to be nice on all of our bodies, he said. Its a welcome change.The top American finishers Sunday were Tommy Ford in 13th and Ryan Cochran-Siegle in an impressive 20th with the No. 50 bib -- a career-best in GS.Tommy is dancing on his skis and has found a lot more speed, Rearick said. Ryan had never been here before and he just figured things out.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf ' ' '