VMI appeared well on its way to securing its first road win of the year at the outset, but squandered 17-point leads in both the first and second halves to drop its sixth straight game.

The Keydets were able to force overtime when freshman forward Stan Okoye hit a driving layup as time expired in regulation. The Blue Hose seized control in the extra frame, however, scoring the first seven points of the added session. PC guard Travis Smith started the spurt with a 3-pointer, followed by inside buckets by Chase Holmes and Walt Allen.

VMI's Austin Kenon hit a pair of free throws with 1:53 left in OT to pull the Keydets within five points, 79-74, but the Blue Hose closed out the contest on a 10-1 run started by a fall-away 12-foot baseline jumper by Holmes with one second on the shot clock. A free throw barrage ensued as PC nailed eight straight from the line to hand VMI its second setback in Clinton in as many visits.

VMI (4-9, 1-4 BSC) was led in scoring by Kenon with 21 points followed by sophomore guard Ron Burks, who posted his third double-double game of the year with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Presbyterian College (3-15, 1-5) did not have a double figures scorer at halftime only to see the Blue Hose place six in that status at game's end. Holmes led the way with 21 points followed by Jake Troyli, who scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime.

The Blue Hose, flustered by turnovers early in the game, shot poorly after the opening tip but warmed up as the game progressed. Presbyterian shot 27.6% in the opening half, 56.3% in the second half, and converted five of six shots from the floor in overtime for 83%. 

VMI took control shortly after the opening tip scoring the first eight points of the game and forcing PC into six turnovers before the first media timeout. The Keydets twice assembled 17-point leads in the first 20 minutes, the latter on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Michel Sparks to give VMI a 29-12 cushion with eight minutes remaining in the half.

The Blue Hose rallied with 13 straight points to creep within 29-25 after a layup by Khalid Mutakabbir with 4:16 left. VMI answered by scoring the last 11 points before intermission including five straight by Burks to close out the scoring.

A pair of Okoye free throws to open the second half reestablished a 17-point VMI advantage, 42-25, before the Keydets started committing costly turnovers which PC exploited to climb back into the game. VMI had forced Presbyterian into 18 first half turnovers, but the Blue Hose recovered to halve that number in the second half.   

VMI still held a double-digit advantage as late as the 12:31 mark (55-45) before the Blue Hose went on a 17-5 run capped by a Travis Smith layup with 3:34 remaining - giving Presbyterian its first lead of the night, 62-60.

The Keydets trailed by as many as four points in the final minutes of regulation before rallying to force overtime, but converted only two of four free throws in the last 1:36 of regulation which could have sent the crowd of 675 home early had the Keydets hit from the charity stripe.

VMI returns home for a three-game homestand beginning Monday night when it faces Randolph College for the first time in program history. Tip-off at Cameron Hall will be 7:00 p.m.