FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - By the time VMI figured out Texas San Antonio's zone defense, it was too late.
Leroy Hurd scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds and Justin Harbert added 11 points to lead UTSA over VMI, 68-52, in the BP Top of the World Classic Saturday afternoon in Fairbanks, Alaska.
VMI fell to 0-2 on the season and will face either Binghamton Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (EST) in the seventh place game.
San Antonio played a stingy 3-2 zone throughout the game and held VMI to 12.9% (4-31) from the floor in the first half. The Roadrunners capitalized on 13 Runnin' Roos turnovers and raced to a 35-13 lead at halftime.
USTA kept the pressure on in the second half, and increased its lead to as much as 30 points, 48-18, when Harbert rammed in a three-pointer with 13:49 left. The Keydets continued their shooting woes up to that point, missing 33 of 39 shots, but hit 11 of their next 20 shots for the remainder of regulation and rammed in eight of 12 three-point shots over that span to close the gap.
The Keydets closed withing 16 points (62-46) when Levar Joseph canned a 3-pointer with 2:50 remaining, but the Keydets could come no closer the rest of the way.
VMI finished the game shooting 28.8% from the floor for regulation, but hit 11 of 36 beyond the arc for 30.6%.
The Keydets, however, could not overcome 25 turnovers for the contest.
Joseph led the Keydets in scoring with 12 points and Radee Skipworth added 11 points to extend his double figures scoring streak to 17 games. The Hershey, Pa. native, however, was limited to 3 of 9 shooting from the field.
For the second straight game, VMI ran into foul trouble early. Frontline players Tim Allmond, Tadas Mankevicius, and Preston Beverly all picked up two fouls early in the game, and Allmond went to the locker room with three fouls.
USTA (1-1) shot 44.2% for the game and recorded nine steals, including five by guard Kurt Attaway.
Hurd, the 2003 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, nailed eight of 15 shots from the field and was 7-8 from the line.
The Roadrunners went 18 of 24 from the free throw line, while VMI attempted just 10 from the stripe, hitting seven shots.
HEAD COACH BART BELLAIRS - "You got a lot of emotions as a coach and I went through both today. I felt about as a down as a coach can come at halftime, going 4 for 31 and 2 of 17 from 3-point range. I've never had that. But I was impressed by the human spirit of our guys because I believed if we played five more minutes, we might win the ballgame. I take full responsibility for my team's preparation. The 12:00 game put us in a zone and we just weren't ready to move. We didn't shoot it well enough and didn't get after it, but our second half I'll remember for a long time about some guys that turned it completely around. Our offense hurt us again today, but I think we can be a good offensive team."
