HIGH POINT, N.C. - Austin Kenon had a season-high 33 points, VMI pulled away with a late 13-0 run and the Keydets captured their fourth straight Big South win on the road, defeating the High Point Panthers 97-91 Saturday night in High Point, N.C.

With the win, VMI moves to 11-7 on the year and 4-4 in Big South play, including a perfect 4-0 mark in road conference games. Kenon went 12 for 13 at the foul line, en route to his fifth career game with at least 30 points. It was also the senior's second-straight 30-plus point outing against High Point, as Kenon hit for 38 markers against the Panthers last season at Cameron Hall.

The win also moves VMI head coach Duggar Baucom into second place on the Institute's all-time wins list, with 80 victories at the helm of the Keydets.

The loss is High Point's eighth consecutive setback, as the Panthers fall to 5-11 overall and 2-5 in conference action. HPU was paced by Big South Preseason Player of the Year Nick Barbour, who had 32 points and was 13 of 14 from the charity stripe.

With the Keydets up 78-76 with 2:37 left, Stan Okoye secured a rebound off a missed free throw. He then found Nick Gore for a three-pointer that launched the game-turning, 13-0 run that would prove to be the difference. The stretch came in the middle of a long-distance hot streak, as the Keydets made 4 of 5 three-pointers during a 3:27 time period, including the 13-0 run, late in the game.

The contest started with back-and-forth action, as there were four ties and six lead changes in the opening 5:55 of play. Ron Burks gave the Keydets the edge with a lay-up at the 15:32 mark, but Justin Cheek answered with a three-pointer, giving High Point a 20-18 lead with just under six minutes elapsed in the first half. After another Burks basket on the ensuing possession, Barbour converted an old-fashioned three-point play for the home team, staking the Panthers to a 23-20 advantage.

Although VMI was able to tie the game at 23, the Keydets could not regain the edge until the 8:01 mark, when Kenon hit a trey off a pass from Burks. That shot was part of a 7-0 run that gave the visitors a 34-30 lead, equaling their biggest cushion at that point, but the Panthers came right back with a 7-0 push of their own, making the score 37-34 with 5:16 left in the first half.

After an exchange of possessions, Kenon answered the HPU run with a basket, starting the Keydets on a 9-0 spurt, during which the senior guard scored six of the points to help VMI retake the advantage, 43-39, but yet again, High Point responded. Back-to-back layups by Earnest Bridges tied the score at 43-all with 1:26 left in the half. VMI would score the final three points of the period and take a 46-43 edge to the locker room at halftime.

The first half saw eight ties and nine lead changes overall. While Kenon led the way for VMI with 16 points, the story for High Point was its bench, which outscored VMI's reserves 29-9 in the first 20 minutes of play.

The second half opened with a pair of lead changes, as after an exchange of three-pointers, HPU scored five unanswered points to take a 51-49 lead with 16:32 to go, but Kenon responded with a trey on VMI's next possession, putting the Keydets back up by one.

The next sequence was crucial, as neither team scored for nearly three minutes. D.J. Covington had two blocks and Ron Burks had two steals during that time, but VMI would not score, and HPU's Du'Vaughn Maxwell finally converted a hoop to put his team back on top, 53-52, with 13:27 remaining.

That would prove to be the Panthers' final lead of the night, as the Keydets' Michael Sparks nailed a three-pointer the next time down the floor, putting VMI up 55-53 and starting a 13-5 run, one that would give the visitors a 65-58 cushion with 10:36 to go.

The home team would not go quietly, as HPU scored the next five points to cut the lead to two with 9:22 remaining. Once again, Kenon answered the run with a three-pointer, but the Panthers scored the game's next four points and trailed by just one, 68-67, with 7:20 to play.

High Point climbed back within a single point two other times over the next 90 seconds, but was answered by Kenon yet again, as the senior drained another trey at the 4:54 mark to make the score, 75-71.

In response, Barbour converted two free throws for High Point, but Keith Gabriel drained a trey for the Keydets, pushing the margin back to five. Shay Shine hit two free throws at the 3:59 mark, but could only split a pair with 2:37 remaining.

Okoye rebounded and found Gore for the three-pointer, starting the decisive 13-0 run. VMI would go up by a game-high 15 points with under a minute to play, and the Keydets held on for their third consecutive win at the Millis Center and fifth straight win over High Point overall.

In addition to the exploits of Kenon, Okoye had a double-double (his eighth of the season) for VMI with 17 points and 12 rebounds. He was 7 of 7 from the foul line, and despite an off night from the field (4 of 12), had a key role in the game-deciding run, when he converted a three-point play and made two technical foul shots in a single Keydet possession, coming with under a minute to go. Okoye also had a career-high five steals. The bench scoring also went VMI's way in the second half, as the Keydets held a 12-4 edge in that category.

Corey Law had 10 points and 12 boards for High Point, while Maxwell also had a double-double, chipping in 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. All told, Saturday's game featured nine ties and 13 lead changes.

The Keydets blocked eight shots on the night including three by freshman D.J. Covington and dropped in 14 of 29 three-point hoists, giving them 29 treys over the last two games. VMI also converted 27-of-35 from the line including a stellar display by Kenon, who drained his first 12 attempts before missing his final free throw try of the night.

VMI basketball will return to action Thursday, as the Keydets wrap up a three-game road swing by taking on the Liberty Flames. Game time in Lynchburg, Va. is set for 7 p.m.

VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom - "It was a pretty strange and bizarre game. I was just pleased with the way the guys competed. We didn't do some things late game that were smart, but by in large we put ourselves in position to win."

"Nick (Gore) hit a big three to get us going late and Keith (Gabriel) followed with one off a set play. I thought Keith had a huge second half for us. We did a great defensive job on Barbour. A lot of his points came late." 

"Austin (Kenon) was able to hit five three's in just nine attempts. He shot it really well for two straight games. I'll take 14 of 29 as a team in 3-pointers any night."

"Credit the guys for fighting through and persevering on the road. We just kept fighting and trying to make plays. Stan Okoye stepped up and made those three free throws at the end. We just did things we had to do to win."