LEXINGTON, Va. - The Winthrop Eagles extended their school record win streak to 14 games with a 63-48 victory over VMI Wednesday night at Cameron Hall.
Winthrop, which has not lost since January 5, moved to 23-5 overall and 14-1 in Big South action. VMI dropped its second straight game and fell to 8-18, 2-13.
The Eagles, despite shooting 39.3% for the game, held a punishing 46-31 advantage on the boards including 17 offensive rebounds. The Eagles also converted six of 16 three-pointers and 13 of 18 attempts from the free throw line for 72.2%.
Junior forward James Schuler scored 12 points and junior forward Otis Daniels and sophomore forward Craig Bradshaw each scored 11 points for the Eagles. Daniels also paced Winthrop on the boards with eight rebounds.
VMI got a game-high 23 points from freshman forward Reggie Williams. Senior center Tim Allmond added 10 points.
The game was tied at 9-9 when VMI's Fred Robinson converted a layup with 11:48 left in the first half, but Winthrop broke the game open with a 19-6 run the rest of the frame to assume a 28-15 lead at the break. It was VMI's lowest first half scoring of the season - lower than the 18 points the Keydets tallied in the first half against Winthrop in the first of the Jan. 31 game at Rock Hill.
Winthrop took its biggest lead of the game in the second half with 21 points leads on four occasions - as late as 7:33 following a jumper by junior center Billy Houston that put the Eagles up 49-28.
The Keydets closed within 13 points (57-44) when freshman guard Borko Popic hit a baseline jumper with 3:16 left, but VMI could not shrink the deficit anymore for the remainder of regulation.
The Keydets struggled through a woeful shooting night - going 35.8% from the field, 1-13 in three-pointers, and nine of 17 for the line for 52.9%.
VMI sophomore guard Matt Coward was held to one point, but dished out nine assists with two turnovers.
The Eagles won for the first time in Cameron Hall in four tries.
VMI closes out its season Saturday at home against High Point at 1:00 p.m. Winthrop, the no. 1 seed for the Big South Tournament, travels to Charleston Southern for a 4:00 tip.
