WEST POINT, N.Y. - Freshman guard Chavis Holmes led VMI with a career-high 20 points but it was the play of sophomore Reggie Williams, who tallied nine of his 15 points in the game's final seven minutes as the visiting Keydets outlasted Army 72-63 at West Point's Christl Arena Thursday night.
VMI (3-4) won its third straight game by building a sizeable first-half lead, thanks in large part to Army's shooting woes, and then withstood several Black Knight (3-5) surges in the final 20 minutes. The Keydets' win avenged a 53-49 loss to Army in VMI's Cameron Hall on Nov. 21.
While Army was shooting just 11.5 percent (3 of 26) from the field in the opening half, VMI built a 23-point advantage, 30-7, en route to a 33-12 intermission lead. Holmes, whose previous high-point total was 12 versus Old Dominion on Nov. 30, came off the bench to lead the Keydets with 15 first-half points.
Army hit just one of its first 18 shots. The Black Knights' second bucket of the contest came with 4:44 left in the half to make the score 27-7.
Behind the hot shooting of junior guard Matt Bell, Army came out on fire in the second half, slicing the lead to 12 points, 36-24, just 2:44 into the frame. Bell forged eight of his game-high 28 points during Army's opening 12-3 surge. The Black Knights would ultimately trim the deficit to single digits nine times throughout the remainder of the contest, but could get no closer than eight points, on two occasions.
After Army had closed to within 52-44 with 7:17 to play, VMI thwarted the Black Knights' comeback hopes by converting at the free throw line down the stretch. Williams scored nine of his 15 points in the final seven minutes, with all nine coming at the foul line. The Keydets shot 14 of 17 from the stripe during that span, while connecting on just two buckets.
Holding that 52-44 lead, VMI reeled off eight successive points, featuring a three-point play from Preston Beverly off a steal, and three free throws by Williams, who was fouled while attempting a three-point shot.
For the night, VMI was 29 of 38 from the foul line, outscoring Army by 17 points at the stripe. The Keydets nailed nine of 10 FT's over the last 2:41 of regulation. The Black Knights, who shot 12 of 25 (.480), were victimized throughout the second half by their inability to make free throws.
The Keydets shot 45.0 percent (18 of 40) from the field on the night while Army finished at 33.3 percent (20 of 60). The Black Knights hit 17 of their 34 second half shots but it was not enough to offset their first-half struggles.
VMI freshman Travis Holmes joined his twin brother and Williams in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Army freshman guard Dan Borcherdt posted a career-high 12 points for the Black Knights.
Making a big impact on the boards was sophomore Justin Jarman, who grabbed a career-high eight rebounds on the evening. VMI out-rebounded their opponents by a 38-31 margin and converted 15 Army turnovers into 14 points.
The Keydets' three-game win streak is their first since Dec. 8-15 of 2001. They will look to run the streak to four in a row this Saturday, when they host Southern Virginia at Cameron Hall in a 1 p.m. start.
