LEXINGTON, Va. - VMI placed four players in double figures scoring including a career-high 12 points from reserve center Tadas Mankevicius to defeat Liberty, 73-67, before 1,493 spectators at Cameron Hall Thursday night.
The Keydets (8-16, 2-11) won their second straight Big South game and notched their third victory over the last four games after dropping 13 straight contests.
Liberty fell for only the third time in the last 11 games and now stands 11-14, 9-4 Big South).
Freshman forward Reggie Williams led the Keydets with 13 points while senior center Tim Allmond and sophomore guard Matt Coward added 12 points and 11 points, respectively. It was only the second time this season the Keydets had placed four double figures scorers in a game with the Dec. 13 win against Bluefield the only other contest.
Liberty was without the services of leading scorer David Dees (16.4 PPG) who sustained a sprained left ankle in Monday's win over Coastal Carolina in Lynchburg.
Senior guard Brian Woodson pumped in a career-high 26 points to lead the Flames and sophomore guard Larry Blair added 18 points.
The first half saw seven leads changes and seven ties before VMI took a 30-27 lead at the break. The Keydets opened the second half blistering the nets - hitting seven of their first nine shots to take a 46-37 advantage at the 12:37 mark when Williams converted a layup.
A three-pointer by Blair sliced the Keydet cushion to 46-40 one minute later, but the Keydets responded with a 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 55-40, when Coward hit a layup with 7:33 remaining.
VMI hit seven of 10 free throws in the final 1:37 of regulation to hold off a final Liberty charge. Freshman forward Doug Stewart nailed a three-pointer from the left wing with :06 left, but Coward converted one of two free throws with :03 remaining for the final margin.
VMI shot 36.7% in the first half, but improved to 68.2% in the second half, hitting 15 of 22 shots. The Keydets, who were out-rebounded, 38-28 in the 91-71 loss to the Flames in Lynchburg on Jan. 24, held the advantage in rebounding in the rematch, 34-31.
The Keydets for the second straight game avoided elimination from qualifying for the Big South Tournament, but must win at Birmingham-Southern, one of the teams they are chasing, Saturday night to keep their hopes alive. Tipoff at Bill Battle Coliseum will be 8:00 EST. Liberty will play Radford Saturday at the Vines Center at 7:00 p.m.
