LEXINGTON, Va. - Fueled by Ron Burks' first career double-double and four other players in double figures, the VMI Keydets won their 2009-10 season opener, defeating the Army Black Knights 93-86 at Lexington, Va.'s Cameron Hall Friday night.
Burks snared 10 rebounds to go along with his 15 points and career-high six steals, and the sophomore batted the ball away from an Army player in the game's clinching moment, a takeaway with 2:08 left that led to a Burks layup and a six-point VMI lead. Michael Sparks, Austin Kenon, Keith Gabriel and Stan Okoye all scored in double digits as well, leading VMI to its 10th win in the past 11 home openers. The Keydets forced 34 turnovers in the victory, which led to 38 points.
The contest was back-and-forth early, as the Keydets led for the first three minutes. A Burks three-pointer opened the scoring just 30 seconds in, but Army tied it, 6-6, on a pair of Marcus Nelson free throws at the 18:22 mark. The Black Knights had four turnovers in the first 2:09 of the game, but still managed to take their first lead of the night at 17:01, as Eric Zastoupil converted a basket to make it 10-8.
The Keydets retook the lead less than a minute later, when Burks scored to make it 12-10. VMI held the lead for the next four minutes, but could not push it higher than five, and Army tied the game at 17 on a jumper by Julian Simmons with 12:50 left in the opening half. Sparks fueled the Keydets' response, as the sophomore hit three-pointers on VMI's next two possessions to put the Keydets up by four, 23-19.
Once again, Army rallied to tie the score by notching six of the next eight points, concluding with a pair of Ella Ellis free throws at 10:40. The Keydets answered with the first true run of the night, a 13-5 spurt over the next six minutes that ended with a Sparks layup at 4:47 to give VMI a 38-30 advantage. Nelson responded with a basket for Army, but Kenon hit his only three-point basket of the night to put the Keydets up nine, 41-32, with 1:21 left in the frame. The teams traded free throws to end the period and make the halftime score, 43-36.
Kenon led the Keydets in the first half with 14 points, while Burks had seven points and five rebounds. Sparks also scored in double figures with 11 points, and VMI had 20 points off 22 Army turnovers in the opening frame. The Keydets shot 12-of-12 from the foul line in the first half, en route to their seven-point advantage.
After a Burks three opened the second half, the Black Knights threw together their first extended spurt of the night and briefly quieted the raucous Cameron Hall crowd. Eleven unanswered points by the visitors gave them their first lead since three minutes into the game, 47-46, coming on a dunk by Jeremy Hence with 17:10 to play.
An 8-0 run put the Keydets back in front, as four different players teamed up over the next minute-plus to make it 54-47 VMI with 15:39 to go, but Army rallied once again, cutting the deficit to two on a lay-in by Jon Sizemore with 13:11 left.
A trey by Okoye, the first of his college career, put VMI back up five minutes later, 61-56, and the Keydets gradually began to pull away. A three by Gabriel made it 73-65 at the 9:14 mark, and the VMI sophomore converted a steal and fast-break layup moments later to give VMI its 10-point lead once again, 75-65, but as was the case all night, Army answered. Five straight points quickly cut the deficit in half, and after a Sparks triple at 7:14, the Black Knights went on a 9-1 run over the next 1:30 to tie the score on a three-pointer by Simmons, 79-79.
The Keydets then scored the next six points and ended the run with Burks' steal and fast-break basket with 2:08 to play, a hoop that gave the home team an 85-79 cushion. Army's Cleveland Richard scored off a pair of offensive rebounds, cutting the margin to four with a minute to play, but the visitors would get no closer the rest of the way. The Keydets finished the game with eight free throws over the final 50 seconds, helping to account for the final 93-86 margin.
For the game, Kenon led VMI with 24 points, the majority of which came at the foul line. The sophomore went 17-of-20 at the charity stripe, including 12-of-12 to open his night, and fell just two short of the team record of 19 made free throws, set in 1978 and equaled in 1986.
VMI also continued a trend from last season, when they went 15-1 when outshooting their opponent from three-point range. The Keydets shot 34% from distance, while Army made just 27% of its attempts on the evening.
The Keydets return to action Monday, as they travel to Robins Center to take on the Richmond Spiders. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
