ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Levar Joseph scored 18 points and hit four triples and Matt Coward and Reggie Williams added 16 and 14 points respectively, to lead VMI to its first ever win over Navy in basketball, 78-73.
VMI trailed by eights points twice in the second half, falling behind after a 9-1 Mids run the put them up, 56-48, with 12:05 left and later at 58-50 on a layup by Taj Matthews at the midway point of the second half.
But the Keydets charged to the lead with an 11-0 run sparked by five consecutive steals by the visitors. Coward's layup put the Keydets up for good, 59-58, with 6:37 remaining, and a Tim Allmond layup at the 4:51 mark capped the run.
The Keydet lead grew to as much as eight points, 71-63 after a pair of free throws by Coward, but Navy pulled within one point, 72-71 when George O'Garro hit a put back jumper and was fouled by VMI's Tim Allmond with 1:04 left. O'Garro missed the subsequent free throw that would have tied the game, and the Keydets converted on the next possession when forward Preston Beverly tipped a missed Williams 3-pointer with :29 seconds left.
Williams partially blocked a David Hooper 3-point bid to tie the game on Navy's next possession and VMI's Joseph rebounded and was fouled. Joseph nailed both free throws to put the Keydets ahead 76-71 with :14 left, but Navy's Corey Johnson rammed in a three to halve the deficit with eight seconds left. But Coward capped an 8 for 10 free throw shooting performance after intermission by nailing two free throws with :07 left to preserve the lead and secure the win.
VMI shot 39% from the floor for the game, but overcame the cold numbers by going 16 of 21 from the line and forcing 22 Navy turnovers and generating 13 steals into 19 points. The Keydets also held Navy to 3 of 26 shooting beyond the arc while shooting 8 of 24 in that category. All but one of the 11 VMI players who saw action scored.
Fanning led the Mids with a career-high double of 20 points and 13 rebounds and was assisted by Taj Matthews career-high 19 points.
The Keydets fell behind, 27-14, following a 21-10 run by Navy in the first half, but answered with a 12-2 spurt over 2:30 to pull within three with 5:39 left and pulled even over two minutes later when Joseph hit a jumper.
VMI trailed 35-34 at the break.
The Keydets started 2-0 for the first time since 1999-2000. It was also their first victory over Navy after dropping the first 21 games in the series. The Keydets also snapped a 14-game road losing streak dating back to the 2002-03 season.
The Keydets (2-0) face Old Dominion in Norfolk Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
VMI head coach Bart Bellairs - "They're fun to watch and a joy to coach. Tim Allmond came off the bench, Preston (Beverly) came in off the bench, and we had key players that came in and did some great things. Sam Mielnik gave us such a boost on that run late in the first half. I was really impressed with our team, and they're playing hard. Our group is playing with some confidence now. We had a good crowd of VMI alumns here today- it was fun."
