VMI led by as many as 16, and held on to defeat archrival The Citadel, 70-63, on Saturday at Cameron Hall.
The victory was the first SoCon win and also the first D1 win of the year for the Keydets (4-15, 1-5 SoCon).
VMI stormed out to an early 25-9 lead on the strength of made threes from Taeshaud Jackson II, Devin Butler, Tyran Cook and AJ Clark.
The Bulldogs (8-11, 0-6 SoCon) gradually cut into the deficit over the final nine minutes of the period to go into the half with VMI leading, 35-29.
On five separate occasions in the second half, the Bulldogs got to within one point of the Keydets, finally taking the lead at 60-59 on the second of two free throws by Madison Durr with 2:45 left.
Brennan Watkins regained the lead for VMI off a three-pointer at the 1:55 mark, and freshman Stephen Olowoniyi upped the lead to 64-62 with a basket in the paint.
Senior Devin Butler went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute, and Watkins iced the win with two final free throws to seal the 70-63 win for VMI.
“I’m so proud of our kids,” VMI coach Andrew Wilson said. “We have faced a tremendous amount of adversity this season, and for them to step up versus our biggest rival is very special. The corps gave us the edge we needed and created a big-time college basketball environment.”
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Chris Graham
