VMI won its second straight road game and evened its Big South Conference mark at 2-2. The Keydets, winners of three of their last four games, improved to 9-5 overall on the season. Gardner-Webb dropped its sixth straight game and fell to 6-10 overall and 1-3 in the league.

Okoye hit 10-of-16 shots from the floor and six-of-eight from the line to net his eighth game of 20 or more points this season. He also paced the Keydets on the boards with eight rebounds.

Other VMI double figures scorers included senior guard Austin Kenon who scored 18 points and dished out a season-high six assists while dropping in a trio of three-pointers. Freshman point guard Rodney Glasgow and junior guard Keith Gabriel added 16 and 11 points, respectively.

The Keydets shot a season-high 58.7% from the floor (37-of-63) and held a 52-38 advantage in points in the paint. VMI outrebounded the Bulldogs 37-32 to go 7-0 in games it has rebounded its foe.

Gardner-Webb was led in scoring by forward Stefon Johnson who tallied 17 points. Guard Laron Buggs added 13 points while guard David Brown drained four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points.

The Keydets built an early eight-point lead when Okoye converted a pair of free throws four minutes into the game to give VMI an early 13-8 edge. The Bulldogs would battle back and took their first lead on a Brown 3-pointer to put the hosts ahead 19-18 at the 9:34 mark.

The first half saw eight ties and 10 leads changes before sophomore guard Joe Carr hit back-to-back layups to jumpstart a torrid next five minutes for the Keydets. VMI went on a 19-1 run over the last 4:58 of the half and scored last 15 points of the frame. Okoye helped key the spurt with eight points and executed consecutive dunks before the buzzer ended the half with VMI holding a 54-36 advantage.

The Keydets converted on seven of their last eight shot attempts from the field to close out the first half.

Gardner-Webb would fight back after intermission and closed within 16 points on a Mike Byron layup to open the second half, but an Okoye jumper and Kenon layup quickly made it a 20-point game for the first time. A Johnson layup with 16:45 remaining pulled the Bulldogs within a 58-41 count, but that would be as close they would get as Glasgow nailed a 3-pointer 15 seconds later to give the Keydets a 20-point cushion they would maintain the rest of the afternoon and cement their third win in Boiling Springs in as many visits.  

VMI built its largest lead at the 12:44 mark when sophomore wing Michael Sparks swished a 3-pointer to put the Keydets ahead, 74-46.

VMI will play its first home game since December 11 when its opens a two-game homestand with the opening fray against Coastal Carolina Thursday night. Tip-off at Cameron Hall will be 7 p.m. Gardner-Webb resumes action at Presbyterian College Thursday night in Clinton, S.C.

VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom - "Joe (Carr) got us going on that run late in the first half - he really sparked us. Once everyone started making shots, we started guarding better. We were able to come back and win the second half after halftime. We got maybe a touch sloppy defensively and played the scoreboard, but by in large, we made the shots when we had to."

"Stan Okoye bounced back in a big way after a tough game on Friday. He was the man around the rim. We shot decently from 3-point range, but didn't have to rely on that today. I thought Rodney Glasgow did a good job out there at the point controlling the game."

"It doesn't get any easier with Coastal Carolina coming in on Thursday. But it's nice to get these last two after dropping our first two conference games."