LYNCHBURG, Va. ? The VMI Keydets posted their largest margin of victory on the road in more than 50 years Tuesday night, as they routed the Liberty Flames 109-72 in a Big South contest played before 6,973 at the Vines Center.
The win ends VMI's three-game losing streak, and moves the Keydets to 21-7 overall. It assures VMI of the #2 seed in the upcoming Big South tournament, as the Keydets now stand at 12-5 in conference play. Liberty falls to 20-10 and 11-6 in the Big South.
The visitors were paced by six players in double figures, led by Chavis Holmes with 24 points, and VMI's offense was fueled by hitting 50% (18-for-36) of its three-point attempts. The Flames were led by Anthony Smith, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his final home game.
The win sets two new marks for margin of victory, as it is VMI's largest road margin of victory since the 1953-54 season, when VMI defeated Lynchburg 97-57. In addition, it is the Keydets' biggest point disparity against a Division I opponent since Feb. 5, 1996 when VMI knocked off The Citadel, 91-52. Finally, this game marks Liberty's worst loss at home since 1991, when the Flames fell to East Tennessee State by 41 points.
The home team got off to an explosive start, taking an early 2-0 lead on a Brolin Floyd dunk in the opening minute. Travis Holmes then scored three consecutive points, and Liberty would not lead again. Those three points were capped with a layup at the 18:41 mark, giving VMI the 3-2 advantage. From there, several minutes of back-and-forth play ensued, ending with a Ron Burks lay-in at the 11:06 mark, giving the Keydets a 17-11 lead.
The notable factor early in the game was VMI's trapping defense on Liberty standout Seth Curry. The Keydets frequently sent multiple defenders at the freshman when he received the ball, forcing him to pass. Curry committed seven turnovers on the night and shot just 4-of-14 from the field. His first field goal did not come until the 9:25 mark, when he hit a three-pointer to cut the VMI lead to five, 19-14.
On the ensuing possession, Adam Lonon scored to push the VMI advantage back to seven, but Curry hit another three to cut the deficit to four, 21-17. After VMI scored five of the next seven points, Curry hit another three to make the score 26-22, with 6:47 left in the opening half. All told, Curry went 3-for-3 during his spurt and 1-for-11 the rest of the night.
After the final Curry three of the run, the Keydets then went on a 7-0 run in less than a minute, capped by a pair of Chavis Holmes free throws, to take an 11-point lead. That advantage was VMI's largest thus far, but the home team fired back. A 11-4 run chopped the VMI lead to just four, 37-33, but that was as close as the Flames could get the remainder of the night.
The Keydets closed the half on a 12-2 run, with a pair of Chavis Holmes three-pointers being the impetus behind the spurt. The push gave the visitors a 49-35 halftime lead.
Over the first 20 minutes, VMI was led by the Holmes twins, who each had 14 points. The Keydets shot nearly 50% from the floor in the opening half, and out-rebounded Liberty 49-35 during that time.
The Keydets came out flying to open the second period, starting the frame with an 11-2 run to bring the large VMI contingent present to its feet. A Keith Gabriel three-pointer at 16:35 capped the run, and gave the Runnin' Roos a 22-point cushion, 60-38. VMI was not done, as the visitors started a 14-4 run with a Willie Bell dunk at 16:07. The push ended with a Michael Sparks fast-break layup, and the Keydets had blown the game wide open, 74-45.
From there, the teams settled into back-and-forth play, with VMI continuing to have the hot hand. The Keydets gradually pulled away even more, and went up 33 on a Bell lay-in at 8:04. They then outscored Liberty 17-9 over the next four minutes. Gabriel hit another three-pointer at the 4:33 mark, giving VMI its biggest advantage of the night, 105-64, sending the Liberty fans streaming for the exits. The Flames hit several free throws late to help account for the final margin, 109-72.
VMI shot well from three-point range throughout the game, including 57% in the second half, as the Keydets hit 18-of-36 from distance. The visitors out-rebounded Liberty, 44-38, which marked their biggest advantage on the boards against an NCAA Division I opponent this season. The contest also marked the most assists the Keydets had against a Division I foe this year, as the 25 helpers bested the previous mark of 24, set Dec. 6 versus UNC Asheville.
VMI was paced by Chavis Holmes, who had 24 points and eight rebounds, while his brother Travis had 22 and 10. All told, six Keydets scored in double figures, marking only the third time this season that occurred versus a Division I squad.
Liberty was led by Smith, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds in his final home game. The Flames shot just 15-for-27 from the foul line in suffering the 37-point loss.
VMI closes out the regular season Saturday, as the Keydets travel to High Point, N.C., to take on the High Point Panthers. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Quotes --- VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom:
“I'm pleased with the way they played. Credit Coach (Daniel) Willis for a very sound game plan. We just saw that the majority of their scoring was from three guys, and we said that we are going to do something a little bit different. Desperate people do desperate things. We hadn't played very well, so we said something will change up, and it did.”
“What's crazy is tonight your defense is good, and your offense gets better. We did a great job from the foul line, and certainly a good job from three.”
“I'm happy for the guys. They picked us seventh and we certainly would have liked to have finished first, but I hope nobody is ashamed of second. I think that's a good thing, and we'll certainly do our part to do well in the tournament.”
“I thought we rebounded well when it was crunch time. I'm extremely proud of the guys' efforts. We just wrote up on the board, ?110% effort'. We had a game plan, but it's all about effort, and if you play hard, good things will happen. It's one thing to have a plan, and another to execute it. They carried it out perfectly, and then to combine that with some pretty good shooting makes for a good night.”
