N.CHARLESTON, S.C.-Sophomore guard Chavis Holmes scored 22 points after intermission to help rally VMI from a 12-point second-half deficit as the Keydets defeated Charleston Southern, 105-97, Monday in Big South basketball action.
VMI snapped a three-game skid and raised its record to 11-15, 4-6 in the BSC. Charleston Southern had its three-game streak snapped and fell to 8-17, 2-8 BSC.
VMI senior forward Reggie Williams scored 29 points and dished out a career-high 12 assists and Matt Murrer added 27 points for the Keydets.
The Keydets won for only the second time in 13 games when trailing at the half. Down 49-42 at the break, the Keydets were outscored 16-11 in the first four minutes of the second half and trailed, 65-53 following a Dwayne Jackson dunk at the 15:58 mark.
But in a scene that has become more prevalent this year, the nation's leading scoring team, VMI, packed plenty of points on the board in a hurry.
VMI responded to its largest second half deficit by reeling off a 39-15 run over the next eight minutes to turn the tables on the Bucs. Williams started the run with a dunk at 15:06 and Murrer put the Keydets up for good with a layup at the midway point of the half that gave the Keydets a 78-76 lead. A Chavis Holmes 3-pointer, his fourth on the scoring streak, gave VMI its largest lead of the half, 92-80, with 6:57 remaining. During the spurt, C. Holmes scored 13 points while Williams added nine points.
The Bucs trimmed the lead to four on a pair of Shawn Outen free throws at the 4:00 mark to make it 93-89, but the Keydets packed in a zone and forced the Bucs to shoot 3 for 8 from the field for the remainder of regulation.
The Keydets, meanwhile, finished strongly at the free throw line hitting their last six attempts over the last :51 of the game as Williams canned four straight and Robinson converted two with :30 left for the winning margin.
VMI shot three of 17 from three-point range in the first half, but knocked in 10 of 24 beyond the arc in the second half, helping the Keydets to shoot 51.3% from the floor after intermission. Chavis Holmes led the way with six treys.
Robinson added 10 points for the Keydets, who won their third road game of the year and swept its first Big South opponent in a season series since joining the conference in 2003-04.
Dwayne Jackson, who dropped in 43 points against the Keydets in the first meeting at Cameron Hall, led CSU with 26 points and 11 rebounds and got help from Brandon Macklin and Donnell Covington who each scored 16 points. Macklin canned all eight shots from the floor.
CSU outrebounded the Keydets, 51-33, but committed 25 turnovers and went 15 of 27 from the line.
The first half was a tight affair with eight ties and seven lead changes before CSU outscored the Keydets 8-2 over the last 2:47 of the half.
Chavis Holmes extended his double figures scoring streak to 22 games and has scored 20 or more points in 14 games this season.
VMI moved a half-game ahead of UNC Asheville as the teams began the night tied for fifth place in the league. VMI will host UNC Asheville Saturday at Cameron Hall at noon and the game will be televised on Comcast Sports Net and on SportsSouth.
An alumni game will be held immediately after the VMI-UNCA game. Any former players wishing to participate should call the VMI basketball office at 540-464-7384.
