LEXINGTON, Va. ? Senior forward Arizona Reid scored a career-high 42 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in leading High Point to a 99-88 win over VMI Saturday on Senior Day at Cameron Hall before 3,364 fans.
The result clinched the No. 3 seed and a home game for the Panthers (16-13, 8-6 BSC) in next Tuesday's quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Tournament. VMI (14-14, 6-8) will open play in the tourney next Tuesday on the road and will face Liberty as the No. 5 seed.
VMI senior forward Reggie Williams scored 31 points in his final regular season game at Cameron Hall and became the state of Virginia's Division I all-time leading scorer. Williams has 2,526 and surpassed UVA's Bryant Stith (1989-92) former mark of 2,516 points.
The Keydets also got 27 points from junior guard Chavis Holmes and 10 points from twin brother Travis Holmes.
High Point placed four in double-figures scoring including senior guard Mike Jefferson (23), sophomore guard Eugene Harris (20), and freshman guard David Campbell (10).
The Panthers led 53-47 at the break and extended the margin to as big as 13 points (67-54) with 13:49 left on a pair of free throws by Campbell. VMI trimmed the margin to two points (73-71) following a 17-6 run over the next six minutes that was capped by a layup from Carl Josey, who was fouled on the play with 7:38 left. Josey missed the ensuing free throw and things unraveled for the Keydets from that point on as High Point answered with a 15-3 run over the next 5:47 to seize control of the game.
Jefferson started the decisive spurt with a layup at 6:28 and the run include eight straight points produced by a Harris three-pointer, a Campbell layup and Jefferson three-pointer. VMI trailed by it largest margin of 15 points (89-74) when Jefferson nailed another jumper with 1:51 left. During the VMI dry spell, the Keydets went without a field goal (0-3) and committed three turnovers that were all converted into HPU points.
The Panthers converted eight straight free throws over the final 1:08 of the game to slam the door shut on any chance of a VMI rally.
VMI continued to struggle from three-point range for the game hitting just seven of 30 attempts beyond the arc including two of 16 in the second half. High Point drained 10 of 14 from three-point range in the first half and was just two of eight after halftime, but both treys came during HPU's pivotal 15-3 run.
The Keydets handled the ball well in the first half, committing just two turnovers, but VMI turned it over eight times after the break which led a 15-6 second half High Point advantage in points off turnovers.
The Panthers generated 25 assists in the game and were led by Jefferson's with eight. VMI managed just nine assists for the game, their second lowest total of the season and just one better than VMI's assist total vs. the Panthers in game 1, won by High Point at the Millis Center, 90-71, on February 2.
Reid hit 17 of 27 shots from the floor including three 3-pointers and also moved past the 2,000 point career mark in the first half.
Williams produced his 10th 30+point game of the year and the 27th of his career.
Chavis Holmes has now scored 20 or more points in six straight games averaging 22.6 points over that stretch of contests.
The VMI-Liberty game in the Big South Tournament will tip-off at the Vines Center at 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live on www.BigSouthSports.com.
