CHARLESTON, SC - VMI Basketball's medical condition worsened Monday night just as the Keydets were facing one of the hottest teams in the Big South. The result - another loss absorbed in the two-game road swing through the Palmetto State.
For the second consecutive game, Charleston Southern held the opposition under 50 points, defeating the Keydets, 64-49, in Big South Conference action at the CSU field house on Monday night.
CSU improves to 5-19 overall and 2-11 in the league in winning their second consecutive game after an 11-game losing streak. VMI falls to 5-19 overall, 3-10 in conference play. The Buccaneers held VMI to 22.2 percent shooting in the first half and 31.4 percent overall.
"I thought we gave a very consistent defensive effort tonight and we did a nice job of getting the ball inside for good opportunities," said CSU head coach Jim Platt. "We continue to see the progress that we're making as a college basketball team and tonight was a good indication of that."
VMI played the Bucs with two less players Monday night as junior center Tim Allmond sat with a sprained ankle and junior forward Sam Mielnik missed his first game of the year with a broken left thumb. Both sustained their injuries in the final five minutes of Saturday's 60-44 loss at Coastal Carolina. The return of both players to action is indefinite.
Senior point guard Ed O'Neil led the way with 16 points, adding six steals and five assists to his effort. Junior forward Nathan Ball added 10 points while sophomore forward Ferdinand Cain posted a career-high eight points with three blocks off the bench.
Another factor proved to be junior center Jovan Jegdic, who had not scored in the last five games. Jegdic posted seven points on the night. CSU's leading scorer, forward Kurtis Rice, was held to four points and played only 11 minutes due to foul trouble.
"With Kurtis in foul trouble we needed someone to step up on the inside and Ferdinand and Jovan were able to do that tonight," said Platt.
Forward Radee Skipworth led VMI with a game-high 23 points, connecting on seven of VMI's 16 field goals in the game. For the second consecutive game, CSU also won the rebounding battle, grabbing 38 boards to VMI's 31.
CSU trailed just once in the contest at 1-0 with 18:53 to play in the first half. The Bucs proceeded on a 15-4 run, talking a 15-5 lead with 8:40 left in the half. A pair of jumpers by Ball and a layup by O'Neil sparked the Bucs to a 26-16 halftime lead.
VMI got as close as seven points three times early in the second half but at a 12-3 CSU run gave the Bucs a 40-24 lead with 9:38 remaining in the game. The lead remained in double digits for the remainder of the game, reaching 18 points with under a minute to play.
VMI returns home Saturday to face Liberty in a 2:00 game at Cameron Hall that will be televised by Comcast Sports Net. The Keydet seniors, Radee Skipworth and Richard Little, will be honored before the game and the 1964 Southern Conference Championship team will be honored at haftime. Charleston Southern will play Winthrop on Saturday afternoon for its final home game of the 2004 season.
