LEXINGTON, Va. - Shawn Hall scored 20 points and Graham Bunn added 19 points to lead Appalachian State to a 85-68 win over VMI Friday night at Cameron Hall.
The Mountaineers snapped a three-game losing streak to the Keydets and secured their eighth win over the last nine games. ASU raised its overall SoCon mark to 5-1, and 12-4 overall.
VMI fell to 6-10, 1-5, and concluded a three-game homestand.
Appalachian State, the third most prolific scoring team in Division I, raced to a 33-20 lead at the 7:38 mark of the opening half on a Johnathan Mithcell layup, but the Keydets rallied with a 13-3 run and sliced the deficit to 36-35 on a Levar Joseph 3-pointer with 2:14 left before halftime.
ASU took a 41-37 lead to the locker room, and opened the second half with a 14-2 spurt over the first five minutes of the frame. Bunn keyed the run with seven points, including a 3-pointer at the 14:41 mark that pushed the Mountaineer lead to 55-39.
The Keydets fell behind by as many as 19 points when Matt Jones hit a pair of free throws to make it 66-47 at the midway point of the second half, but VMI rallied behind seven straight points by Radee Skipworth. The Keydets closed within 11 points as late as the 4:01 mark on a Preston Beverly layup, but the Mountaineers held VMI to just one field goal the rest of the way, outscoring their opponent 11-3 down the stretch.
Skipworth scored 21 points to lead VMI, but was the only double figures scorer for the Keydets.
Josh Shehan scored 15 points and Nate Carson added eight points and 10 rebounds for ASU, which won in Lexington for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
VMI, which stayed in the game by hitting five of ten 3-pointers in the first half, went 0-7 beyond the arc in the second half.
Richard Little, the SoCon's leading assist man, dished out seven assists but was frustrated by the Mountaineer defense and committed nine turnovers.
ASU shot 48.3% on 29 of 60 attempts from the field, while the Keydets finished with a 39.9% mark on 24 of 65 shooting.
VMI starts a three-game road swing Monday at College of Charleston (7:00 p.m.) Appalachian State returns home for the first time since Jan. 11 when its host Furman Monday night at 7:00 p.m.
VMI HEAD COACH BART BELLAIRS - "It was almost like our guys stayed up all night last night, that just wasn't the same VMI basketball team that played the last three home games, I was disappointed in our effort. Our timing was off, we got the ball inside and didn't take some shots when we had looks. I just didn't think we executed well."
ASU COACH HOUSTON FANCHER - "This (Cameron Hall) is always a tough place to play, and VMI was coming off a big win. Out thought our guys responded well. I think we relaxed a little bit and VMI never quit playing. We learned that last year at our place when we were up by 18 and they came back to beat us."
