LEXINGTON, Va. - Senior Mike Gilbert (Staunton, Va.) hit two shots in the final 1:03 of regulation to rally VMI past Davidson, 61-60, Tuesday night at Cameron Hall.
The win snapped a five-game VMI losing streak and gave the Keydets its first league win of the year. VMI also won its second straight over the Wildcats, with both victories coming at Cameron Hall.
Gilbert, a reserve forward who averaged 5.3 minutes of playing time in VMI's first 15 games, made his first start of the year and scored a season-high eight points on four of seven shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds.
Junior forward Radee Skipworth led the Keydets with 18 points, and junior guard Richard Little added 12 points and nine assists. It marked the 10th game this season that Little had dished out seven or more assists in a contest.
Davidson (9-6, 3-2) placed four in double figures scoring and was led by senior guard Wayne Bernard with 13 points while Conor Grace, Brendan Winters, and Matt McKillop each scored 12 points.
The Wildcats, playing their third game without leading scorer Peter Anderer (broken bone in right hand), took a 60-57 lead with 1:29 left when Bernard hit a layup.
Gilbert answered with a 15-footer at the 1:03 mark to pull the Keydets within one, 61-60. Davidson failed to convert on its next possession when a Bernard 3-pointer was rebounded by VMI's Tim Allmond. Gilbert put the Keydets up for good on the ensuing possession with a 13-foot fade shot in the lane with :24 left.
Davidson's last chance for victory fell short as McKillop's 3-point attempt from the right corner misfired as time expired.
VMI which hit seven of its first eight shots to open the game, shot 40.6% (26-64) from the field and six of 17 beyond the arc (35.3%) - marking only the second time over the last eight games the Keydets had hit 30% or better from 3-point range.
The Wildcats outrebounded the Keydets, 40-36, and were led by Grace with nine rebounds.
Davidson led 32-29 at the break and extended the margin to seven points (40-33) when Winters converted a layup 16:20 left in regulation. The Keydets rallied with seven straight points by Richard Little to knot the score at 40-40 at the 14:51 mark. The game was tied six more times before a Winters free throw with 2:07 left put the Wildcats up, 58-57.
VMI concludes the three-game home stand Friday night against Appalachian State at 7:30 p.m. Davidson hosts UNC Greensboro Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
VMI HEAD COACH BART BELLAIRS - "I was proud of Mike (Gilbert), and I was proud of everyone. I thought our defense was just tremendous tonight. I thought Tim Allmond had some big baskets and boards, and Levar Joseph gave us some big three's, but it was our defensive effort that did a real nice job tonight. Our guys just refused to lose. A win against a quality program like Davidson makes it even more worthwhile. I hope this win will give us a lot of confidence down the road. The team has been through so much, and to keep fighting like this has been great."
