Leading scorer Jake Stephens went down with an injury midway through the first half, but VMI, undeterred, pulled the 80-75 upset at SoCon leader Chattanooga on Saturday.
VMI (16-12, 9-7 SoCon) fought their way to a 37-29 halftime lead on 45 percent (14-of-31) shooting from the field while the Mocs (22-7, 12-4 SoCon) shot just 36 percent (12-of-33).
The Keydets managed to maintain the lead for most of the second half, but Chattanooga gradually cut into the deficit and eventually earned a tie at 62-62 with 7:04 to play. The Mocs picked up a brief 67-65 advantage with 4:55 on the clock, but Honor Huff responded with a three on the ensuing VMI possession to put VMI back up, 68-67, and the Keydets did not trail again.
VMI had a one-point lead with under a minute to play at 76-75, but managed to close it out on a Trey Bonham layup and two clutch Bonham free throws.
Huff led the Keydets with 22 points, just one shy of his career high. Bonham finished with 20 points, and Kamdyn Curfman also logged double figures with 14 during the contest. Stephens ended up with six points in 11 minutes before his injury in the opening half.
Chattanooga sophomore Malachi Smith finished the game with 28 points, and David Jean-Baptiste finished with 18.
Postgame: VMI head coach Dan Earl
“Basketball is a funny game. I thought we played really well at Samford on Thursday, but the game didn’t go our way. It would have been easy for our guys to get down or wonder. We come here into Chattanooga and we’re kind of feeling it out early and unfortunately Jake (Stephens) went down and didn’t play for the rest of the game, but the guys competed throughout and we found a way. Honor Huff and Trey Bonham were phenomenal attacking all game long. Everybody contributed and I can’t say enough about Lewis Rowe when you talk about making two big layups and getting big rebounds, as well. It was a superb overall effort for our team competing and I’m just super proud of the guys.”
“We were a little hesitant when they went to the 1-3-1 zone in the second half but we were playing and responded and Honor Huff hit a big shot to get us out of it. We just kept competing and they went back to man. Our guards did a great job of trying to get downhill into the paint – Trey Bonham had some tremendous finishes and made the right decisions on when to pass it and when to drive and finish. DJ Nussbaum gave us some valuable minutes. I thought everyone did a great job contributing.”
Next up
VMI returns to action at home Wednesday night when the Keydets take on Wofford College at 7 p.m. at Cameron Hall. The game will serve as Senior Night for Keydets Jake Stephens and Connor Arnold playing their final game in Lexington.
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