LEXINGTON, Va. - Matt Coward scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out five assists to lead VMI to a 65-52 non-conference win over Longwood University Thursday night at Cameron Hall.
VMI snapped a 13-game losing streak and moved to 6-15 overall. The Keydets return to Big South play Saturday at Cameron Hall against UNC Asheville.
Longwood fell to 1-24.
The Keydets shot a season-high 56.8% from the field on 24 of 44 shooting. It was the third time in the last six games that the Keydets had gone over 50% from the floor.
Sophomore guard Fred Robinson scored 13 points and freshman forward Reggie Williams added 10 points for VMI.
Sophomore guard Micheal Jefferson paced Longwood with 12 points while junior center Chad Kosmo added 11 points.
The game opened with five lead changes and two ties before the Keydets broke out on a 16-8 run over the last 5:12 to assume a 37-26 lead at halftime. Coward's 45-foot banked three-pointer at the first-half buzzer capped the run.
Coward's three-pointer at the 16:33 mark of the second half pushed the Keydets to their biggest lead of the night, 44-28, but the Lancers halved the deficit with seven straight points capped by freshman forward Lamar Barrett's layup with 13:38 left.
VMI maintained a double-digit advantage throughout most of second half regulation, but the Lancers cut the deficit again to eight points at the :38 mark when sophomore guard Husein Pistoljevic tossed in a three-pointer to make it 60-52. The Keydets responded by sinking five of six free throws over the last :36 to seal the win.
Robinson, who went 4 of 4 from the field and sank all four foul shots, led a bench corps that produced 26 points and was a perfect 9 of 9 from the field.
The Keydets out-rebounded the Lancers, 39-28, and were led by senior center Tim Allmond with nine rebounds. Freshman guard Dana Smith led Longwood in rebounding with eight rebounds.
Saturday's Big South game with UNC Asheville will tip-off at 1:00 p.m at Cameron Hall. Longwood, which has played 17 games away from its home court this season, returns to Willet Hall to open a two-game homestand, beginning Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
VMI head coach Bart Bellairs announced on Thursday's pre-game radio show that junior guard Levar Joseph will undergo knee surgery next Thursday and will be lost for the remainder of the season. Joseph, who missed five games early in the season because of the same knee ailment, was third on the team in scoring (9.7) and was shooting 36% from 3-point range. He played in 14 games, starting ten of those contests.
BART BELLAIRS - " I thought a lot of people played well tonight - when you have six guys shoot over 50% from the field - that's how you win ballgames. I'm pleased with that and we're looking for each other. This is a team that has been through a lot - we had some expectations and just haven't fulfilled them yet, but I'm hoping this will spring-board us and we can go on from there."
