LEXINGTON, VA. - Senior guard Julius Jenkins scored 27 points, including two 3-pointers in the last 2:00 of regulation to lead Georgia Southern past VMI, 91-84 at Saturday at Cameron Hall.
VMI, which trailed by 13 points (66-53) with 8:43 left in the second half, rallied with a 25-11 run over the next six minutes, and took a 78-77 lead with 2:17 left on a Zach Batte dunk fed off a Sam Mielnik assist. But Jenkins answered 17 second later with a trey to put the Eagles up for good, 80-78. Jenkins followed with another 3-ball to push the lead to 85-78 with :48 remaining, and GSU hit four of six free throws down the stretch to cushion the margin.
The Eagles, who have won five of their last six games, moved to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Southern Conference. GSU placed five in double figures scoring including Jean Francois (21 points, 11 rebounds), Prentice Mobley (14), Frank Bennett (13), and Terry Williams (10).
VMI, playing its first game without Jason Conley on the roster, was led by Radee Skipworth with 27 points. Richard Little added 14 points and Levar Joseph tallied 11 points.
Conley, the nation's leading scorer in 2001-02 who was also VMI's leading scorer this season with a 22.2 average, left the team last Thursday to transfer to Missouri.
VMI raced to a 19-6 lead following a Skipworth jumper with 13:43 left in the opening half. Georgia Southern charged back with a 22-8 run and took its first lead on a Terry Williams 3-pointer at the 6:07 mark. The first half saw seven ties and six lead changes before GSU went to the locker room up, 38-37.
The Eagles hit 23 of 34 free throws for 67.6% from the stripe in the game and were led by Francois, who converted nine of 15 to finish with his second consecutive 20+ point game and his second straight double-double game.
Jenkins scored 20 or more points for the ninth time over the last 11 games.
VMI's rally was keyed by 58% shooting in the second half (18-31). The Keydets missed 15 of its first 16 three-point attempts before draining four of its last seven beyond the arc.
Keydet point guard Richard Little dished out eight assists, marking the eighth game this season he has had seven or more assists in a game.
VMI travels to UNC Greensboro Monday night for a 7:00 tipoff at Fleming Gym. Georgia Southern returns to action Monday night against Appalachian State in Statesboro, Ga. Tipoff will be 7:30 p.m.
VMI Head Coach Bart Bellairs - "I was so proud of the effort and the chemistry was good, but the "never say die" attitude was important today. These guys have been through a whole, whole lot when you look at the entire season. We played hard. At the end we had some shots, but it looked like we were just a little nervous to shoot it, but I'm very optimistic about what this team can do."
