VMI Rolls To 84-68 Win Over Liberty

Men's Basketball VMIKeydets.com

VMI Rolls To 84-68 Win Over Liberty

LEXINGTON, Va. ? Sophomore forward Reggie Williams scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and VMI hit a season best 26-of-29 free throws as the Keydets defeated Liberty, 84-68, Saturday night at Cameron Hall.

VMI finished its four-game homestand 2-2 and also evened its Big South league mark to 2-2, 7-8 overall. Liberty dropped its third straight and fell to 4-11, 1-2.

Liberty led the first four minutes of the game before a 9-0 run gave the VMI the lead for good. Larry Blair's jumper at the 15:55 mark put the Flames up 8-6, but a Preston Beverly layup and Chavis Holmes 3-pointer sent the Keydets on their way. Williams sealed the spurt with a bucket at the 13:26 mark to put VMI ahead, 15-8.

VMI broke the game open later in the half with a 23-6 run over 10 minutes. A pair of Travis Holmes free throws pushed the lead to 41-18 at the 2:29 mark, and the Keydets went to the dressing room with a 45-20 advantage after shooting 51.7% from the floor.

The Keydets lead grew to as much as 29 points, 53-34, following a Matt Murrer layup with 16:25 remaining in regulation. But the Flames' Larry Blair, who averaged 21.2 points entering the game but was held to just eight in the first half, sparked a Liberty rally.

Blair scored 20 of his 28 points after intermission and the Flames closed within 10 points twice, the latter on a Blair layup that pulled Liberty within 72-62 with 2:28 left.

But the Keydets nailed six straight free throws, four by Williams and a two by Sean Christiansen, and Matt Murrer converted two layups to secure the win.

VMI shot 45.6% from the floor and held a 46-30 advantage on the boards. Liberty shot 40.6% for the game (28-69). Neither team was effective from 3-point range with Liberty going 3-of-19 and the Keydets 4-of-12 from the arc.

The Keydets also got double figures scoring from Murrer (16) and Beverly (10). Williams' 30 points followed his 34 points last Thursday against High Point, and the Prince George, Va. Native now has four double-double games for his career as well as 14 games with 20 or more points.

Damien Hubbard added 20 points on nine-of-11 shooting from the floor.

The teams have split the last eight meetings in the series, but the Keydets have won four straight in games played at Cameron Hall.

VMI assistant coach Daniel Willis handled the VMI sidelines as head coach Duggar Baucom continued to recuperate from surgery last week.

VMI returns to action Wednesday when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama to face Birmingham-Southern at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern). Liberty next plays Winthrop Thursday night in Rock Hill, S.C. at 7:00 p.m.

VMI Assistant Coach Daniel Willis ? “We knew Liberty would come back in the second half and try to get that big punch to get back in the game, they made a run as us, but we had some guys hit some big free throws down the stretch and it was a big win for our guys. We didn't shoot free throws today at shoot around, and we go out and shoot 26-of-29 from the line. Free throws are all mental and it's easy when you see guys in front of you make them, then you have confidence in yourself that you can make them. Our goal was to keep Blair down- he got 28 points, but on 27 shots, so ultimately we think that was a pretty good ratio.”
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