CONWAY, S.C. ? Junior guard Mario Edwards canned a 3-pointer as time expired to lift Coastal Carolina to a 100-97 victory over VMI Saturday afternoon at Kimbel Arena.

Edwards' buzzer beater handed VMI its first conference road loss of the season as the Keydets fell to 20-5 overall and 11-3 in the Big South Conference.

VMI appeared primed to claim its fourth straight win over the Chanticleers when it held an 94-86 lead with 5:30 left in the second half following a pair of free throws from senior guard Travis Holmes that capped a second half 24-9 scoring run that spanned over five minutes.

But the Chanticleers, who had seen their last five games decided on the final possession with only one win to show heading into the game, outscored VMI 14-3 over the last 5:14 of the second half to raise their record to 11-15 and 5-9 in the Big South Conference.

The Keydets could not claim victory despite hitting 19 shots from long range, their most 3-point goals in a game since hitting a school record 24 against Southern Virginia on January 29.

VMI was paced in scoring by Travis Holmes, who scored 29 points and added eight assists. Senior guard Chavis Holmes and freshman guard Keith Gabriel each added 18 points while freshman guard Michael Sparks and senior guard Austin Kenon scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Coastal Carolina redshirt junior freshman Joseph Harris turned in another strong effort against the Keydets scoring a career-high 33 points and matching it with a career-high 22 rebounds. Edwards added 28 points and converted 11 of 15 shots from the field.

The Chants shot 59.2% from the floor and outrebounded the Keydets, 48-26, while outscoring VMI in the paint, 62-14.

Harris jumpstarted the decisive comeback by hitting a jumper at the 5:14 mark and followed with a dunk to slice the deficit to 94-90 with 4:32 left. Travis Holmes converted one of two free throws at the 4:05 to push the VMI lead back to 95-90, but Edwards took over the game, scoring seven points over the last 3:51 and producing two crucial steals to help hold VMI scoreless over the last 3:34 of the contest.

Edwards hit a driving layup to pull the Chants within 97-94 with 2:18 remaining, but the Keydets could manage only a desperation heave from 3-point range Austin Kenon on VMI's next possession. The Chants rebounded and Moore nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at 97-97 at the :39 mark. After a timeout, VMI ran the clock down but Chavis Holmes misfired on a contested pullup nine-foot baseline jumper and a sprawling Harris grabbed the rebound falling to the floor and called timeout with 5.1 seconds left.

Coastal Carolina's Logan Johnson inbounded to Harris who drove into the front court and dished a pass to Edwards out front which set-up the game winner.

The Keydets started the game on fire and built a 13-point lead (57-44) on a Gabriel 3-pointer with 3:19 left in the first half.

But as was the case in the second half, VMI went cold over the final three-plus minutes of the first half and was outscored 6-0 over that frame to see its lead shaved to 57-50 at the break.

Coastal Carolina outscored VMI 16-3 to start the second half as Travis Holmes nailed a 3-pointer to open the scoring only to see the Chants reel off 16 straight points capped by a Harris layup to push CCU ahead, 66-60, five minutes into the half. The Chanticleers twice held seven point advantages before VMI started its comeback and retook the lead.

VMI senior forward Willie Bell played just six minutes of the second half after picking up his fourth foul at the 18:06 mark and finished the game with just two points in 16 minutes on the floor.

The two-game road trip continues Monday night as VMI travels to Clinton, S.C. for the first time to take on Presbyterian at 7:00 p.m.

VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom ?

“It's frustrating. We drew up the play they were going to run to get the last shot. We drew it up, we had seen it on film ? we actually run that same play, and then we just didn't guard them. People went brain dead, that happens. We told them exactly where Joseph Harris was going to catch the ball and what he was going to do with it. We also didn't run a play that we had drawn up in a timeout earlier. We improvised and had Michael (Sparks) wide open in the corner and we chose to shoot another shot. You live and learn. You just hate that it cost you this bad.”