Box Score
LEXINGTON, Va. - Freshman guard Michael Ellis scored 25 points and UNCA held off a second-half VMI rally to win its sixth straight over the Keydets, 82-74, Saturday afternoon at Cameron Hall.
Ellis, who scored 18 points in the Bulldogs' 83-65 win over VMI in Asheville Jan. 21, drained 10-of-13 shots from the floor in Saturday's game, including two-of-two beyond the arc.
Bulldogs junior forward Joey Harrell scored 18 points and hit eight-of-nine from the stripe and senior forward Oliver Holmes added 10 points for UNCA.
Sophomore forward Reggie Williams led VMI in scoring with 19 points in 27 minutes played. Williams did not start the game after being late for the morning shoot-around. Williams first entered the game at the 9:25 mark of the first half.
Freshman guard Travis Holmes scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and junior forward Matt Murrer added 13 points for the Keydets, who dropped their eight straight game and fell to 7-16, 2-10 Big South.
UNCA won for the fifth time in its last seven contests and moved to 8-14, 6-6 Big South.
UNC Asheville out-shot VMI 58% to 42% in the first half but held only a 37-32 lead at the break. The first half saw four ties and four lead changes and neither team led by more than six points.
The Bulldogs broke the game open with an 11-0 run over a three-and-a-half minute stretch in the second half and built their biggest lead, 61-45, at the 12:29 mark when Ellis canned a 3-pointer from the right side.
But the Keydets rallied with a 16-4 run over the next three plus minutes, pulling within 65-61 on a 3-point goal by Chavis Holmes with 9:08 left.
VMI closed within four points twice in the last 1:37 of regulation, but UNCA knocked down six straight from the line to keep distance. A Travis Holmes trey cut the Bulldog lead to 78-74 with 1:18 left, but VMI missed all of its final seven shots from the field the rest of the way.
UNCA outrebounded VMI, 35-32, and hit 17-of-24 foul shots, including 14-of-16 in the second half. The Bulldogs shot seven-of-19 from three-point range for 36.8%.
The Keydets, plagued by turnovers during the current losing skid, handled the ball much better against UNCA, committing just 10 turnovers, the fewest since a season-low seven against Towson December 21. VMI also generated 15 assists, including a season-high tying seven dished by Chavis Holmes.
Murrer produced his fifth career double-double (all this season) with 10 boards to go with his 13 points. Murrer has now led VMI in rebounding in 12 of the 23 games played this season.
UNCA took a 8-2 lead in the overall series between the schools. VMI's last win over the Bulldogs came in the 1991-92 season.
VMI travels to High Point University Wednesday to face the Panthers at the Millis Center at 7:00 p.m. UNC Asheville opens a two-game homestand beginning Monday night against Coastal Carolina at 7:00 p.m.
VMI HEAD COACH DUGGAR BAUCOM - "I'm proud of the guys. I thought in the first half even though our field goal percentage defense doesn't indicate it, I thought we got out and forced some turnovers and we were very aggressive. We still had a little trouble scoring, but I was pleased with our effort, especially when we got down 16, because we could have packed our tents, especially when you've lost seven straight. I was proud of the way our guys responded and came out after that. Chavis (Holmes) had seven assists and one turnover. That's pretty good. I thought Travis (Holmes) played very well. You play that hard and have nothing to show for it, that's what is tough on the guys. We'll keep fighting. We'll have our hands full at High Point (Wednesday) and we'll have to be ready to fight their pressure. Hopefully, we can build from this game a little bit and go from there."
