Winthrop sophomore guard Marc-David Vil forced the game into overtime when he nailed a 19-footer from the right wing as the buzzer sounded, sending the Keydets into their second straight extra session in as many games.

A Sparks driving layup put VMI up, 105-103, at the 2:23 mark in OT before Vil nailed a three-pointer from the left baseline to push the Eagles ahead, 106-105. It would be Winthrop's final lead of the evening as Travis Holmes converted a driving layup with 1:24 to put the Keydets ahead for good, 107-106. The Eagles would miss their final four shots from the floor and committed a costly turnover with :16 left when Travis Holmes knocked away an inbounds pass and was fouled. The Eagles went scoreless over the final 1:54 of overtime while the Holmes brothers combined for three-of-six from the line over the final :28 to give VMI its first win at Winthrop Coliseum since December 21, 1996, and its first season series sweep of Winthrop since joining the Big South in 2003-04.

VMI trailed at the break 47-40 following a first half that saw Winthrop shoot 70% (21-of-30) with many buckets coming on driving layups.

The game opened with three ties over the first five minutes before Winthrop went on an 8-0 run to take a 24-13 lead on a Justin Burton trey at the 12:04 mark. The Eagles continued to amass points in the paint and twice pushed the margin to 12 as late as the 3:31 mark when George Valentine hit in a layup to give Winthrop a 45-33 lead. But the Keydets reeled off seven straight points on a three-pointer by Keith Gabriel, a layup by Chavis Holmes, and a Sparks jumper to shave the halftime deficit into single digits.

The Keydets turned up the defensive intensity after intermission and seized momentum in the second half with two decisive scoring spurts of 14-2 and 8-0 and built as much as a 15-point lead (76-61) when Sparks canned a wing three-pointer with 9:45 left. VMI still led by double-digit margin when senior Willie Bell drove home a layup with 3:59 remaining to make it 88-78, but the Eagles rallied with a 19-9 sprint to end regulation that was capped by David's buzzer tying shot.

Joining Chavis Holmes and Sparks in double figures were Travis Holmes (21), Bell (17), Gabriel (11), and Austin Kenon (10) .

Winthrop was paced in scoring by guard Andre Jones who tallied 24 points while forward Stanley Cameron added 21 points.

The win ended a string of four straight overtime setbacks for the Keydets including a 103-95 loss to UNC Asheville Monday night at Cameron Hall.

VMI's 9-2 conference record is the best start in school history and the Keydets improved their road mark to 8-2, the best such record since 1976-77.

VMI returns home for a two-game conference stand starting Saturday against Gardner-Webb. Tipoff is 1 p.m.        

Quotes --- VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom:

“The twins made some unbelievable plays down the stretch. Michael Sparks is back. He gutted it out. He rebounded. He just played and what he did was remarkable. I thought with Willie Bell fouling out in regulation they were going to just pound us on the boards and we just had to make plays, and we did. Different people stepped up.”

“I think we held them to 10 points over the first nine minutes of the second half. We guarded and turned them over and we got great pressure on the ball.”

“We needed that one. To bounce back from adversity like that and tonight to come in here on the floor with this crowd was something we needed.”