Game Coverage on SportsPage Gleaner
ROCK HILL, S.C. - VMI's storybook run in the Big South Conference Tournament came to an end Saturday afternoon as Reggie Williams' lengthy fall away three-point attempt sailed right as the buzzer sounded and Winthrop held on to win, 84-81, at Winthrop Coliseum.

Winthrop won its third straight Conference tournament championship and advances to the NCAA tournament. The Keydets close out the season with a 14-19 mark, the most wins for a VMI basketball team in nine years.

VMI was led in scoring by sophomore guard Travis Holmes, who tied a career-high with 29 points on nine of 13 shooting from the field including six 3-pointers. Matt Murrer added 14 points and six rebounds while Williams finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles capitalized on balanced scoring and were led by senior guard Torrell Martin with 17 points and senior forward Craig Bradshaw with 15 points.

Both teams shot well from three-point range with VMI going 12 of 34 from beyond the arc while Winthrop connected on 12 of 35 from long range.

VMI withstood several Winthrop runs throughout the game through effective three-point shooting and balanced scoring. The Eagles, the top defensive team in the Conference keyed on Williams throughout the game and forced the junior to find his teammates with scoring opportunities, and score they did. Williams, the nation's leading scorer at 28.6 points per game, was held to 13 points but led the Keydets on the boards with nine. Senior forward Matt Murrer added 14 points and six rebounds and senior guard Fred Robinson canned three treys in an 11-point outing. Sophomore guard Chavis Holmes added 12 points.

The Keydets, playing in their first tournament final since 1988, fell behind by nine, 23-14, when Craig Bradshaw swished a three-pointer with 10:34 left in the opening half. VMI responded with five quick points from a Chavis Holmes jumper and a three-pointer by Robinson. Again, Winthrop stretch out a 37-31 lead on a DeAndre Adams 3-pointer at the 4:10 mark, but VMI countered with eight straight points and seized its first and only lead of the game on a Travis Holmes 3-pointer which put the Keydets ahead, 39-37, with 1:43 left in the half.

VMI trailed by a 40-39 count at the break, and the second half played as tight as one would want for a championship tilt. VMI battled back from six and eight point deficits to tie the game and eventually evened the score for the final time in regulation at 66-66 with 7:24 left.

Junior forward Taj McCullough followed with back-to-back three-pointers from the right wing to put Winthrop up for good, but the game wasn't decided until the final possession.

Trailing 84-81, VMI forced Winthrop into a shot clock violation and regained possession with 9.7 seconds left. The Keydets worked the ball to Williams, who had curled up from the right baseline to take the basketball at mid-court. Williams tried to manuver in, but Winthrop defenders forced him to pull-up and attempt an off-balance 27-footer which sailed wide right as time expired.

Both teams shot almost identical second half numbers which the Keydets converting on 14 of 27 from the floor and 6 of 16 from three-point range while Winthrop fired 15 of 29 in the second half including 8 of 20 in three-point tries.


VMI Coach & Player Quotes:

Head Coach Duggar Baucom:

On the final play of the game:
"It's a play we practice every day before the game. We ran it to perfection, but Winthrop just did a real good job of defending it. He (Reggie) got off a real good look, but it just came back off a little bit."

On Winthrop and the team's resilience:
"Winthrop is really, really good. To go through the regular season unscathed is pretty hard to do, but I do think it says something for us to make it to the championship game after being picked a resounding eighth place in the preseason."

On overcoming adversity:
"Overcoming adversity has been the story for us all year. We have had to make adjustments and the guys always bought in. They are such a resilient bunch. I am pretty proud of this group, and I'm a lucky guy to get to coach them."

Reggie Williams:

On his performance:
"I recognized that Travis was hot today, so I was focused on getting him and others the ball. I was trying to get everybody involved."

On Winthrop's 35 three-point attempts:
"That's what we wanted them to do. They just happened to knock down some big ones down the stretch that hurt us. Our focus was to keep it out of the middle, and keep it away from Bradshaw."

On playing 118 minutes in three postseason games:
"Our stamina all comes from preseason conditioning. I was in good shape thanks to that, but also the fact that we have never been here before. Adrenaline was just pumping, and you don't even think about being tired."

Travis Holmes:

On not letting Winthrop pull away:
"We knew they would come out in the second half and give us their best shot. We know that if we get down a few points, if we get hot then we can be very dangerous and come back quick. We just tried to come out with a lot of intensity and fight throughout the game."

On his hot shooting for the game:
"We were trying to drive and create open shots all game. Fortunately I was in the position to have the open shots, and made a couple of them. We knew we probably couldn't shoot over their big guys, so we just tried to get everyone involved."

On picking up the scoring for Reggie:
"We have a lot of talent on this team. When Reggie's not scoring a lot, someone else steps up. "

On playing 109 minutes this postseason:
"In Preseason I think I pushed it pretty hard. Our preseason was pretty tough, and that's the reason I think we are so tough. You don't want to come out of the game, you want to make that big shot. When the adrenaline is flowing you don't even think about being tired, you just gotta suck it up and play."

Game Notes:

-Reggie Williams and Travis Holmes were selected to the All-Tournament Team for their performances. Williams finished with 64 points & 26 rebounds, while Holmes had 63 points and 21 rebounds.

-With six steals, the Keydets broke the NCAA single-season record with 490 steals. The previous mark was 486 set by Oklahoma in 1987-88.