Rodney Glasgow had a career-high 33 points, and Phillip Anglade finished two blocks shy of a triple-double as the VMI Keydets defeated the University of Virginia – Lynchburg Dragons, 110-78 in basketball action Monday night at Cameron Hall. With the win, VMI remains undefeated at home this season with a perfect 6-0 mark.
VUL (4-10) hung tough in the first half, as the Keydets went cold from outside, shooting just 4 of 22 from long-range in the first 20 minutes.
With the game still just a six-point contest, VMI (6-4) blew it open with a 23-4 run early in the second half and went on to the victory behind a 64-point second half, fueled by Glasgow’s 21 second-half points and career-high seven three-pointers.
Anglade finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots, all career highs and falling two blocks shy of a triple-double. The eight rejections are the second-most in a single game in Keydet history.
In addition to Glasgow and Anglade, QJ Peterson added 23 points and seven rebounds, while D.J. Covington had his third straight double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
VMI got off to a very slow start, missing its first 11 three-pointers, and VUL held the lead until a Peterson hoop at the 12:22 mark gave VMI its first advantage, 16-14. From there, five lead changes ensued over the rest of the half, with the Keydets not able to stretch their lead to more than 11. They got there on the strength of a 10-0 run started at the 4:02 mark, a spurt that took just 1:33 and gave the home team a 41-30 advantage.
VUL, however, battled back. The Dragons scored 10 of the half’s final 15 points, reducing the margin to six at halftime.
The teams went back and forth for the first two minutes of the second half, with the visitors drawing within six once again at 50-44 with18:18 left. Glasgow hit two free throws less than a minute later, starting the game-breaking 23-4 spurt that gave the Keydets a 73-48 lead with 10:09 to go. The VMI defense stiffened during the deciding run, holding VUL to 2 of 13 from the floor and forcing eight turnovers during the 8:09 span.
VMI then continued to stretch its lead, going up by 30 for the first time on a Glasgow triple with 7:25 on the clock, 87-57. The Keydets reached their game-high 36-point lead on a Peterson three with 3:47 left, 100-64, but the Dragons outscored the home team 14-10 over the final moments to account for the final margin.
Despite the difficult first half, VMI finished 41 of 91 from the floor (45.1%) and 11 of 47 from three-point range (23.4%), with seven of those triples coming in the second half. VUL went 31 of 82 (37.8%) and 3 of 12 (25%), respectively.
In defeat, VUL was led by Irving Cato, who had 18 points and 16 rebounds, as well as Dennis Gravely, who notched 12 points and 15 boards. Chris Calvin chipped in 20 points for the Dragons.
VMI will now break for exams and return to action Dec. 19, facing the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, N.C. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Quotes – VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom
“It was a little sluggish early on. Some guys didn’t come ready to play and you can’t do that. When it goes up, you can’t just say ‘I’m ready’. That had a carryover but in the second half I thought we were much better.”
“Thank goodness Rodney Glasgow made a few threes because everyone else was pretty horrid. Rodney was finding his stroke.”
“I felt Phillip Anglade was the difference in the game. He had energy from the start with almost a triple double.”
“I was displeased with the first half but I felt in the second half we were much, much better.”
“These games always worry me before exams because the guys are all over the place and have papers due. It’s very tough. We had no crowd tonight. The ones we had here were few, but they were loud.”
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Chris Graham
