The VMI Keydets blew the game open with a 28-7 run to start the second half and put five players in double figures en route to an 85-75 over The Citadel Bulldogs in SoCon men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Va.
The Keydets (8-13, 4-6 SoCon) won a game that lasted two hours, 28 minutes and was marred by 60 personal fouls, a new Cameron Hall record for combined personal fouls called.
The first half was a back and forth affair, marked by six ties and four lead changes, but after a Brian White dunk in the opening moments of the second half pulled the Bulldogs (8-12, 3-6) within two, VMI scored 28 of the game’s next 33 points to pull away for good. The Citadel managed to draw within eight in the closing moments, but could get no closer as VMI captured its fifth win in the last six contests against the Bulldogs.
Julian Eleby led VMI’s five double figure scorers with 15 points, 10 of which came from the foul line, while Brian Brown (12), Trey Chapman (11), Tim Marshall (10) and Jordan Weethee (10) all hit double figures as well.
It was the first time the Keydets had put five or more players in double figures since Jan. 2’s game at ETSU. Ashton Moore of The Citadel led all scorers with 20 points and P.J. Horgan added a double-double (14 pts., 14 reb.), but VMI’s 51-18 edge in bench scoring, including a 34-5 margin in that statistic in the second half, was more than enough to take the victory.
As mentioned above, the 60 personal fouls were a new facility record, breaking the old mark of 59 set Dec. 11, 2006. The Citadel was whistled for 32 while the Keydets were charged with 28.
VMI jumped out to an early 19-10 lead in Saturday’s action thanks to five three-pointers over the first 6:48, but The Citadel rallied. A 10-0 run, capped by a Horgan free throw, gave the visitors their first lead of the day, 20-19, at the 8:36 mark of the opening half. That was the first of the four lead changes, and neither team led by more than three until a Christian Burton basket on VMI’s final possession of the half gave it a 35-31 edge headed into halftime.
The Keydets exploded early in the second half, taking a game-high 25-point lead before the under-12 media timeout. The Bulldogs gradually chipped away, drawing to within 11 at 76-65 after two Moore free throws with 5:44 to go, but four consecutive points pushed the lead back to 16 and helped VMI hold off a Bulldog rally in the final minute. The Citadel was able to get the margin down to eight with 44 seconds remaining, 83-75, but could draw no closer as VMI held on.
In addition to the double figure scorers, Phillip Anglade notched five blocks, moving him past Tim Allmond and into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Institute list in that statistic.
VMI basketball will return to action Thursday, as the Keydets take on the Western Carolina Catamounts at Cameron Hall. Time time is set for 7 p.m.
Quotes – VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom
“I thought we did a good job of guarding today and for the most part we were pretty solid. We wanted the ball in Julian Eleby or Brian Brown’s hand at the end – we expect those guys to step up and make free throws and they did.”
“I was really pleased with Jordan Weethee and he gave us some great minutes today. He played like I know he’s capable of doing and it’s good to get him back in the fold.”
“They went zone and we tried to get the ball inside and not just settle for 3’s and we did a good job with that. The bench scoring was huge today and that’s important because the second unit hadn’t been scoring much. We have to take care of the ball a little bit better but at least we were able to force 21 turnovers.”
“It’s a credit to our guys able to bounce back after one of our longest practices of the year here yesterday as we were just trying to prep for this one. It was a credit to them putting forth the effort and doing the things they had to do.”
“I thought we did a decent job defensively on Ashton Moore although he was able to get to the line late. I told our guys at halftime that The Citadel was going to play for 40 minutes. They were down 24 points at ETSU two nights ago and got it back to five.”
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