BUIES CREEK, N.C. ? Senior forward Travis Holmes hit two free throws with 27.4 seconds left and freshman Michael Sparks added a layup with 9.4 seconds left following a crucial stop to lift VMI past Campbell, 97-92 Monday night at Gore Arena.
VMI raised its record to 4-1 on the season, its fastest start under head coach Duggar Baucom and the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.
Campbell fell to 2-2. The teams meet again December 9 at Cameron Hall in Lexington.
VMI led 87-60 following a 3-point play by senior forward Willie Bell that capped a 12-4 with 7:29 left in regulation. But the Camels rallied with a 22-6 run to trim the deficit to 93-92 when Kyle Vejraska hit a jumper with :54 left.
A loose ball foul near mid-court was called on Campbell's Chris Reynolds at the 27.4 mark setting the stage for Travis Holmes' two dramatic free throws.
VMI nailed 19 three-pointers for the game including 12 in the first half. The Keydets placed five in double figures scoring and were led by Travis Holmes and freshman guard Keith Gabriel with 22 points each. Senior guard Chavis Holmes scored 20 points and Michael Sparks added 14 points while Austin Kenon scored 12 while dished out eight assists..
Campbell was led by forward Jonathan Rodriguez who hit 10 of 16 shots for 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
VMI built a 50-37 half-time lead by converting 17 Camel first-half miscues into a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers. CU had just six turnovers in the final half and scored 16 second-half points off Keydet mistakes.
Campbell finished with a 64-22 edge on points in the paint, but VMI outscored the Camels beyond the arc 57-6. Campbell finished with a 49-28 edge on the glass, including a 20-11 margin in second-chance points.
The Keydets shot 47 percent for the game (33-70) and 47.5 percent (19-40) from 3-point range while canning 12-of-16 from the stripe.
The Keydets return to action Saturday afternoon and will face Jacksonville State in Alabama at 5:00 EST, 4:00 local time.
HEAD COACH DUGGAR BAUCOM- “I knew they were going to make a run at us. We had a hard time guarding them. Thank goodness for Keith Gabriel's little spark in the middle that gave us the run. It was a great run and everyone contributed. We turned it over way too much in the second half ? 12 turnovers. We'll learn from it. I told our guys just now that two years ago, we don't win this game on the road. That's how much we've matured. The best thing about it was we wrote on the board “Fight through adversity” and at the timeout with :27 left our freshman were saying it over and over. If those guys keep believing that, we've got good things ahead of us. The freshman played well and we had good senior leadership.”
Note - For the second straight week, VMI received a vote in the AP Top 25 college basketball poll and moved up from 25th to 22nd in the collegeinsider.com mid-major poll.
