Stan Okoye had a double-double as well as five steals in just 19 minutes and D.J. Covington scored 23 points as the VMI Keydets won their preseason tuneup, defeating Frostburg State 115-60 in exhibition play Saturday night at Cameron Hall.
Okoye finished the night 8 of 17 from the field, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He also added three assists to his five steals, as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year paced the Keydets.
Covington went 7 of 11 from the floor for the evening and added nine free throws, as he had 17 points in the first half to help the Keydets jump out to a 22-point halftime lead. Rodney Glasgow added 16 points and a team-high five assists, as the Keydets had 23 assists on 37 baskets in the victory.
Frostburg State shot just 27.2 percent (22 of 81) from the floor, and aside from scoring leader Christian Jackson, who had a game-high 26 points, was just 12 of 57 (21.1 percent) for the evening. FSU also went just 2 of 22 from beyond the three-point line.
VMI would run out an early 22-7 lead, but the visitors would play the Keydets evenly for the next several minutes, and after Jackson’s layup at the 8:17 mark, had cut the margin to 13 at 34-21. The Keydets then scored nine of the next 13 points to go up by 20 for the first time, 45-25, and after a basket by Okoye at 2:07, FSU got no closer than 22 the rest of the way.
After enjoying a 54-32 lead at halftime, the Keydets left no doubt in the second half, opening the period with a 12-4 run to go up 30, 66-36. The margin continued to grow, as a thunderous Covington dunk at the 10:25 mark made it 40, 89-49, and it became 50 on the first of two Gavin Stephenson foul shots with 7:29 to play. The final score of 115-60 equaled the largest lead of the night, a 55-point cushion, as the Keydets outscored Frostburg State 61-28 in the second half.
VMI basketball will open its season Nov. 10 at The Citadel, facing the Bulldogs in the opening round of this year’s All-Military Classic. Tip time is set for 4 p.m.
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