VMI trailed by 19 at the half, but made it a game late, before falling to UNC Greensboro, 85-79, at Cameron Hall on Wednesday.
The Keydets (4-18, 1-8 SoCon) still trailed by 18 points with as little as 7:34 left in the game, but got within five at 77-72 with 2:51 left in regulation.
A Brennan Watkins jumper put VMI within single digits with 5:04 to play. Then Watkins cut the deficit to seven after a big trey at the 3:47 mark to make the score 77-70 for UNCG.
AJ Clark cut it to five off a steal and fast-break layup to make the score 77-72 with 2:51 left, but the Spartans (16-6, 7-2 SoCon) made a few defensive stops and hit several key free throws in the final moments to ice the game.
“I’m very proud of our team for the fight we showed in the second half to get back in the game,” VMI coach Andrew Wilson said. “I’m hopeful we can build off this performance versus one of the best teams in the SoCon and continue to build our confidence.”
Watkins scored a game-high 21 points on the night, his ninth 20+-point performance of the year
Both DJ Nussbaum and Taeshaud Jackson II came within one rebound of achieving a double-double. Jackson finished with 17 points and Nussbaum logged 12 on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
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Chris Graham
