LYNCHBURG, Va. - VMI Basketball improved its shooting that has hampered the squad in recent weeks, but couldn't overcome a 38-28 disadvantage on the boards in a 91-71 road loss to Liberty Monday night at the Vines Center.
The Flames ran their home winning streak to 14-straight games over a Big South opponent and it secured for Liberty its fifth-straight overall victory.
The game remained close over the first 10 minutes of the contest as the two teams traded the lead back and forth five times, including a jumper by Matt Coward (Fr., G, Richmond, Va.) at the 13:43 mark, giving VMI (5-10, 0-5 BSC) a three-point lead, 18-15.
However, that would prove to be the Keydets' final lead of the contest as Liberty (7-11, 5-2 BSC) started to slowly take control of the game by opening up a sizeable lead with the help of a 16-4 run over the next five minutes of action as back-to-back three-pointers by David Dees (So., G, Dayton, Ohio) gave the Flames a nine-point advantage, 31-22, with 7:34 left to play in the first half.
The lead remained the same over the next several minutes of action until the Flames closed the opening period on a 7-2 run to take a 12-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 46-34. Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the opening period as both Liberty (19-for-38) and VMI (15-for-30) finished the first half shooting exactly 50.0 percent from the field.
A jumper by Coward followed by a three-pointer by Reggie Williams (Fr., F, Prince George, Va.) on the following possession trimmed the Flames' lead back to seven points, 48-41, just two minutes into the second half, but the Flames quickly responded with a 12-2 run to extended their lead to a more comfortable margin and cruise to the victory.
The Flames, who pushed the lead to as much as 25 points over the final 15 minutes of the contest, bettered their first half shooting performance as Liberty shot 51.9 percent from the field (14-for-27) in the final period and finished the game shooting 50.8 percent from the field, marking its second-best effort from the field in a game this season. The Keydets also found the Vines Center to be quite friendly as VMI nearly matched the Flames by shooting 49.1 percent from the field (27-for-55) in the contest.
Liberty had three of its five starters finish with 20 or more points in the game as Dees paced the Flames with his third-straight 20-point game by scoring 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a season-best 5-of-7 from three-point range, Leo Lightbourne (Sr., F, Andros, Bahamas) added 21 points and a team-best nine rebounds and Larry Blair (So., G, Charlotte, N.C.) netted 20 points, while dishing out five assists.
Williams led the Keydets as the starting forward netted 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, while Coward followed with 12 points and a team-high five assists.
VMI has dropped eight straight, but continued to shoot well from the free throw line where it went 12-16 for 75%, their fifth straight game over 70% from the line.
The Flames will close out their first round of Big South Conference games with a road contest at arch rival Radford on Saturday with a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Dedmon Center, while the Keydets return to action on Wednesday as the conclude a brief two-game road swing at High Point for a 7 p.m. contest.
