LYNCHBURG, Va. - Senior forward Reggie Williams scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and junior guard Chavis Holmes added 25 points as VMI rallied for an 81-79 win over Liberty Tuesday night at the Vines Center.

VMI trailed by as many as seven points with over six minutes to go in regulation, but went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead for good.

Williams' 3-point play with 3:01 left put VMI on top for the rest of the night, 74-73.

Freshman forward Quinn Brownfield hit two free throws with 14.4 second left to give VMI and 81-77 lead. Brownfield finished with a 6-for-6 performance from the line.

Guard TeeJay Bannister's desperation half-court shot to win it for the Flames fell short as time expired.

VMI is now 14-13, 6-7 Big South. Liberty fell to 14-15, 6-7 Big South.

With 14 wins on the season, VMI has compiled back-to-back 14 wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 1976-77 and 1977-78.

The six conference wins also represents the most by VMI in a season since joining the Big South in 2003-04.

VMI's decisive 9-0 run started with a Chavis Holmes layup with 4:20 left to slice the deficit to 73-69. Williams followed with five straight points on the next two possessions including a layup and the key 3-point-play to put VMI up for good. Chavis capped the string with a layup at the 2:30 mark to put VMI 76-73 with 2:30 to go.

The Keydets were able to protect their lead by hitting three of six free throws over the last :45 of regulation. Brownfield's two foul shots with 14.4 seconds left extended VMI's lead to 81-77.

Liberty's Anthony Smith answered with a jumper with 4.2 left to slice the lead to 81-79. The Flames fouled Keydet guard Christian Hunter with 3.8 seconds left, but the freshman was unable to connect on two attempts. Liberty rebounded but play was halted because the clock did not resume after the free throw attempts. The Flames inbounded the ball at half-court with 2.0 remaining but could only manage a half-court heave by Bannister that fell short at the buzzer.

Williams hit on 15 of 26 shot attempts from the floor and also dished out three assists in collecting his 31st career double-double and 26th game of 30 or more points.

The Flames challenged the perimeter shot throughout most of the game forcing the Keydets to drive and look inside for point production. The Keydets were limited to just five 3-pointers, well below their 12 per game average, but outscored Liberty in the paint, 38-36 and worked themselves to the free throw line 25 times, hitting 18 attempts including an 8 for 9 performance fromChavis Holmes. VMI also outscored Liberty in points-off-turnovers, 21-13. VMI shot 50% from the field, going 29 of 58 from the floor.

VMI entered the game undermanned as starting junior forward Willie Bell did not play because of an ankle injury sustained in Saturday's Radford game. Bell is expected to return for VMI's final regular season home game against High Point Saturday.

Smith paced Liberty with 23 points and 11 rebounds while forward Alex McLean scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds despite playing the last nine minutes of regulation with four fouls. LU guards Jeremy Anderson (14 points) and Kyle Ohman (11 points) combined for seven 3-pointers as Liberty went 12 for 34 beyond the arc.

The Keydets broke the game open in the first half, hitting three consecutive bombs by Chavis Holmes, Adam Lonon and Brownfield to take a 19-6 lead with 12:30 left in the first half. Liberty called timeout and later extended its defense to try to neutralize VMI's perimeter shot, but the Keydets grinded it out inside and never trailed in the first half,taking a 41-36 lead at halftime.

The Flames started the second half on an 11-4 run and took its first lead of the game on a Bannister jumper with 16:11 left. The teams battled through four more ties and four lead changes before LU took a seven-point lead (71-64) as late as 6:41 when Ohman drained a 3-pointer. VMI then started its key run two minutes later.

Saturday's tip-off against High Point will begin at 1:00 p.m. The their will be a special ceremony honoring Reggie Williams who will be playing in his final regular season game at Cameron Hall. The game can be watched live on “The Edge” for 4.95 by signing up at
www.bigsouthsports.com.