N. CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern overcame a 32-point performance from VMI junior guard Austin Kenon and posted a 95-85 win over the Keydets Thursday night at Buccaneer Field House.
The Bucs (13-15, 7-10) snapped a seven-game losing streak to VMI and won for the first time against the Keydets on their home floor since February, 2006.
VMI fell to 10-17, 5-12 in the Big South and will continue its quest to nail down a spot in the Big South Tournament on Saturday when it plays at Coastal Carolina.
Forward Kenny Mitchell scored 21 points and forward Kelvin Martin scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Charleston Southern.
Kenon produced his second consecutive 30-point game as he hit 10-of-17 shots from the floor including six three-pointers which matched a season-high. VMI got additional scoring support from freshman forward Stan Okoye who scored 26 points while sophomore guard Keith Gabriel and sophomore forward Michael Sparks had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
After spotting CSU the first basket of the game, the Keydets went on a 16-6 run to take a 16-8 lead at the following an Okoye dunk at the 13:10 mark. The Bucs countered with a 9-2 spurt that was capped by back-to-back Kelvin Martin layups with 11:26 left. An Okoye free throw followed by a Kenon trey pushed the VMI lead back to six points, 23-17, but CSU came back to take the lead briefly on a Warren 3-pointer. The Keydets later followed a 26-26 tie with seven unanswered points on a run that ended with a Gabriel 3-pointer with 5:28 left in the half.
The Keydets gradually saw their lead and momentum slip away for the remainder of the night. Charleston Southern reeled off an 18-6 spurt over the last 3:48 of the first half using a strong inside game fueled by offensive rebounding and putbacks. The run started with seven unanswered points on a three-point play by Mitchell, layups by Mitchell and guard Jamarco Warren and another layup by Martin.
Sparks nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game for the final time at 35-35 with 2:15 left, but guard Austin Johnson's 3-pointer on the ensuing possession lifted CSU to the lead for good. The Bucs took a 44-39 lead at the break after holding an 11-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Charleston Southern appeared on the verge of breaking the game wide open when a dunk by Mitchell lifted the home team to a 13-point bulge (67-54) with 10:25 left in regulation. Seven unanswered points by the Keydets pulled them within six past the midway point of the half, but that would be as close as they could come the rest of the way.
CSU nailed 21 of 24 free throws, including 19 of 22 in the second half to secure their first conference win since February 4.
VMI will face Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon in Conway, S.C. at 2:00 p.m. A win by the Keydets would assure them a spot in the Big South Conference tournament which gets underway next Tuesday. Should VMI fall Saturday, it would have to await the outcome of the Gardner-Webb at UNC Asheville game to determine participation in the tournament. Both the Keydets and Gardner-Webb have identical 5-12 league marks heading in to final weekend of conference action.
