LEXINGTON, Va. - VMI never trailed Wednesday night, as the Keydets knocked off the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats 111-92 in a non-conference contest played at Cameron Hall in Lexington. The Keydets had six players in double figures, led by freshman Nick Gore's 20 points and eight rebounds.
Three records fell in Wednesday's game, as the Keydets attempted 63 three-pointers on the night, setting a new school record which also stands as a Cameron Hall best. West Virginia Wesleyan also set a record, pulling down 72 rebounds on the night to set a new facility mark, while VMI nearly matched its previous best of 66 caroms in its home arena by grabbing 64 boards on the night, 38 on the offensive end.
With the win, VMI moves to 2-1 on the young season and attains a 2-0 start at Cameron Hall for the fourth consecutive year. West Virginia Wesleyan drops to 0-1 in their second visit to Lexington in three seasons.
The Keydets got off to a quick start, as Ron Burks hit two three-pointers in a game-opening 10-2 run that ended with a Sparks layup at 17:54. A Caleb Ashley basket for WVWC broke the run, but a Keith Gabriel dunk expanded the lead back to nine. The teams then traded points until Wesleyan's Justin Caldwell scored five unanswered to cut the lead to three at the 13:13 mark.
Gabriel again broke the run with a basket, and the teams began to trade points once again. A Gabriel free throw made it 23-19 with 11:26 left in the half, and neither team could score again for nearly two full minutes. Hunter Houston broke that streak with a three-pointer, but WVWC answered with four straight points to cut the lead to three on a jumper by Jeff White. The teams continued to trade brief runs, with VMI maintaining a lead of at least two points for the next several minutes.
Holding that two-point lead with 5:50 remaining in the half, the Keydets got their first separation since early in the contest. An 11-0 run gave VMI its largest lead of the half, 43-30, with 3:06 to play in the period. After an exchange of baskets, the Keydets got that lead back on a Gabriel hoop, but the Bobcats scored eight of the next 10 points to pull back within seven. Stephen Sargent and Gabriel had buckets in the final minute to account for the halftime score, 51-40.
The Keydets shot just 30% from the floor in the first half and only 6-of-34 (17.6%) from distance, but held the 11-point lead on the strength of 21 points off turnovers. Gabriel led VMI at halftime with his 10 points, while Justin Caldwell had 11 first half markers to pace all scorers.
VMI came out strong to open the second half, opening the period on an 11-2 run that included three consecutive three-pointers by a trio of different players. Hunter Houston capped the run with a trey, and VMI held a 62-42 lead just 86 seconds into the final frame.
Wesleyan scored the next four points to claw back within 16, but the Keydets put the game away with an 8-2 spurt that put the home team up by 25, 73-48, on a dunk by Gabriel. The visitors got back within 16 a few minutes later, as Bryce Barnes hit a three-pointer to cut the margin to 85-69, but Sparks quickly answered with a trey and Wesleyan could get no closer the rest of the way.
The Keydets expanded their lead back to 25 on a layup by Gore with 8:26 left, and pushed that margin to 30 on a Burks layup at the 5:16 mark. WVWC then closed the game on a 15-4 run to end the contest and account for the final margin, 111-92.
On the night, the Keydets' six players in double figures were Gore, Sparks, Austin Kenon, Burks, Stan Okoye and Gabriel, all of whom had at least 12 points. Okoye led VMI with nine rebounds along with his 12 points, while Kenon's 14 points were accompanied by six assists against no turnovers. Wesleyan was paced by Caldwell, who had 25 points, and Keshawn Creighton's 20 markers, but the Bobcats were undone by 27 turnovers, leading to a 37-2 VMI advantage in points off turnovers.
The Keydets return to action Tuesday, Nov. 24, as they travel to Wilmington, N.C. to take on the UNC Wilmington Seahawks. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
VMI HEAD COACH DUGGAR BAUCOM-
"It was kind of a funky game. We had starters over there with two fouls in the first half. We had Ron Burks and Stan Okoye play a combined seven minutes in the first half. We had some guys who don't play much have to come in and sustain and they played pretty well. We just shot the ball so poorly in the first half; 17% from 3-point range. We didn't shoot it very well for the game but we shot it well enough to win."
"Credit Coach Bill Lilly and their bunch. They came ready to play. We have to play without fouling. If we do that we'll be okay. We shot it a little bit better in the second half and that got us a little more going. Mike shot it better in the second half and had four offensive rebounds. He stuck his nose in there and played really well. I was very pleased with Nick Gore. Twenty points and eight rebounds for him is exceptional. I was really proud of him. Keith Gabriel couldn't get it going offensively, but he finished a couple of defensive plays and had some nice passes and nice assists."
"There were some bright spots. To commit seven turnovers and force 27 was good."
