LEXINGTON, Va. ? On the strength of 41 points off turnovers, VMI defeated Southern Wesleyan, 113-94, on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference matchup at Cameron Hall.  

With the win, VMI extends its best start since 1976-77 and moves to 8-2 overall. The Keydets are now 5-0 at home for the first time since 1995-96, when they opened the season 12-0 at Cameron Hall.  The Warriors fall to 4-7 with the loss.

The home team got off to a quick start Saturday, as VMI opened the game with a 12-2 run. That spurt was marked by a trio of steals by Travis Holmes, giving him 260 thefts during his standout career. That number made him the Big South all-time steals leader, passing former Winthrop guard Chris Gaynor, who had 259 during his four years in the conference.

The record-breaking steal came at 16:26 of the opening half, and on the ensuring breakaway, Holmes was intentionally fouled by a Southern Wesleyan player. The senior converted both free throws, and followed with a dunk off a Willie Bell pass to give VMI a double-digit lead.

The Keydets stretched the lead to 12, but Southern Wesleyan answered, scoring seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to five at the 13-minute mark. That was as close as the Warriors would get the rest of the way.

VMI pushed the lead back to 10 quickly, and it stayed in that range until VMI went on a 28-12 run over the final eight minutes of the opening half. The run was fueled by six different Keydets scoring.  VMI forced 17 turnovers in the opening frame, and those Warrior miscues had led to 26 Keydet points, helping the home team hold a 28-point lead at the intermission.

The Warriors made a lengthy run in the second half, as they tallied 57 points over the last 20 minutes, including a 17-2 run early in the second half.

At one point, the visitors had cut the 30-point halftime deficit to nine, but despite the very slow start, VMI had the answer and was able to pull back away to account for the final margin. The Keydets responded with a 13-5 run after Southern Wesleyan cut the lead to single digits.

The Keydets were led by Chavis Holmes, who tallied 26 points and had five assists. The senior guard moved into seventh on the all-time VMI scoring list as he now has 1,594 career points, passing Radee Skipworth, who played at the Institute from 2000-04.

Travis Holmes had 21 points for the Keydets, along with seven steals and just two turnovers in 34 minutes of action, while Keith Gabriel continued his impressive freshman campaign with 20 points off the bench.  It marked the third time this season that three Keydets scored over 20 points, and VMI had three players with five assists each.

The Warriors were led by Nick Lagroone, who notched 29 points, including 18 in the second half. Byron Wimphrie had 18 points, and Lorenzo Earle dished out 11 assists for the visitors.

VMI's win moves them to 15-2 in home non-conference games since their current fast-paced style was implemented prior to the 2006-07 season. It also gives the Keydets seven wins in their last eight games, which is their best streak since early last season.  

The Keydets return to action on Dec. 21, as they travel to West Point, N.Y., to battle the Army Black Knights. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Quotes --- VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom:

“I credit our guys the last minutes of the game when we played much better. The first minute of the second half wasn't bad, but we had just a lull between the 19-minute mark and the six-minute mark. That was pretty ugly, but Southern Wesleyan played pretty well. Give them credit, they have some athletes.”

“That was a challenge for us and we learned some lessons and hopefully that will make us better.”

“Keith Gabriel was huge and made a three and got the big steal in the run and was good defensively. It was one of his better all around games.”