Denver Jones had one of his worst games of the season in Auburn's loss to Florida on Saturday, finishing 0-for-4 from the field and scoring just two points.

On Tuesday at Vanderbilt, the 6-foot-4 senior responded, especially in the first half when he came out red hot, hitting four three-pointers on his way to 14 points before the break.

"That was important," Bruce Pearl said. "Steven Pearl and Denver had some time together, and Steven said, 'Look, you are a scorer that we have playing point guard. Go score. That's what you do.'"

Jones played a vital role in the No. 1 Tigers jumping out to a 15-0 lead, hitting two shots from behind the arc sandwiched between buckets by Chris Moore, Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford. After the Commodores had cut the lead to four with 2:49 until halftime, he made his fourth three of the half to extend the lead to seven.

With Vanderbilt threatening in the second half, Jones hit another three to put the lead at four. Less than a minute later, he hit a jumper to give the Tigers a five-point lead.

It wasn't Auburn's offense that Pearl preached about at halftime.

"Defense was the main thing that BP really stressed at halftime," Jones said. "He said we can't just keep exchanging buckets. So, basically, all five of us finally locked in and finally did well on defense."

But for Jones, it was getting his swagger back after a disappointing loss to the Gators. His coaches played a huge part in that.

"Man, just credit to the coaching staff," the guard said. "I had a talk with Steven, and he just told me to do what I do best — look to score, and everything else will take care of itself. That's what I did tonight."