LEXINGTON, Va.- In one of the great shooting performances in Cameron Hall history, Austin Kenon scored a career-high 39 points, including eight three-pointers and 23 points in the second half, to lead the VMI Keydets to a 79-69 win over the Liberty Flames in Big South basketball action Tuesday night at Cameron Hall.

After Liberty (19-9, 13-3 Big South) cut the margin to five with 7:13 to go, Kenon hit five straight three-pointers, scoring 15 consecutive VMI (15-11, 8-8 Big South) points, to help the Keydets pull away. The final trey of the spurt put VMI up 72-59 with 4:23 remaining, and Liberty could not get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Kenon started just 1 for 6 from three point range, but the senior, playing in his final regular season home game, hit seven of his next 10 from distance, leading to 23 second-half points. He scored 12 consecutive Keydet points during one run in the first half, as 35 of his 39 points came in the game's final 24:40.

Finally, Kenon equaled a career-high with his eight three-pointers, and his 39 points were the 10th-most in Keydet history. Only four players have scored more in a game in VMI basketball history.

Meanwhile, D.J. Covington chipped in 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, while John Brown led Liberty with 22 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

The visiting Flames jumped out to an early 16-11 lead, thanks in large part to a pair of Evan Gordon three-pointers. When Brown converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 14:15 mark, Liberty had that five-point cushion and the game settled into a defensive showdown. Only five total points were scored over the next five-plus minutes, a streak that ended with another Brown basket at the 8:37 mark, giving Liberty its largest lead of the opening half, 21-13.

A Stan Okoye three-pointer, VMI's first points in over four minutes, got the Keydets back on the board with 7:56 left in the half, and VMI whittled the lead down from that point. Liberty reassumed a seven-point margin, 27-20, with 5:14 on the clock, but Kenon buried a mid-range jumper on VMI's next possession, cutting the margin to five.

That was the start of his run of 12 straight VMI points, and was part of a 14-4 run overall. When the spurt ended, the Keydets had a 34-31 lead. Liberty scored on a late putback to account for the halftime score, 34-33, VMI.

Kenon led VMI in the first half, scoring 16 points, while Covington kept the game close early with his three blocks. Brown had 13 points and seven boards for Liberty in the opening period.

The Keydets came out strong in the second half, opening the period on a 12-3 run to go up by double digits, 49-38, after a Keith Gabriel three-pointer with 12:15 left. From there, the teams exchanged mini-runs, as Liberty scored six of the game's next eight points, climbing back within seven with 10:23 left. VMI fired back with back-to-back threes from Michael Sparks and Kenon to reassume a 12-point margin, 57-45, with 9:32 to go.

Once again, Liberty responded, but this would be its final push of the night. John Brown scored four straight points, and the Flames converted three consecutive free throws for a 7-0 run, and closed the gap to 57-52 at the 7:13 mark. That set the stage for Kenon's run of five straight three-pointers, as VMI pulled away for the win.

The home team, led by Kenon's six treys, shot 55% from distance in the second half after hitting just 3 of 16 (18.8%) in the opening period. Point guard Rodney Glasgow had his 12th game this season with one turnover or less, as he had four assists and no miscues in the contest, and the freshman chipped in eight points as well.

The loss was Liberty's first this season to a Big South team other than Coastal Carolina, while VMI defeated the Flames at home for the first time since Jan. 14, 2006.
Tuesday's game will be rebroadcast Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. on MASN, while the Keydets will return to action Saturday in Baltimore, Md., taking on Morgan State in the program's first-ever appearance in ESPN's BracketBusters. Game time is set for 4 p.m.

Quotes - VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom

"We did play a little defense tonight. I was very proud of the guys gutting it out offensively and defensively. We made good plays when we had to and were strong with the ball. It was a matter of toughness last time at their place, and I felt we were as tough as them tonight."

"I've never really seen anything quite like that, but we have seen our fair share of great games with Reggie Williams and the Holmes twins. He was just feeling it tonight. You know it is going for someone when it doesn't matter what play you call, as long as Austin has the ball. Credit his teammates for getting him the ball, and also for Austin making the shots."

"Ron Burks did a great job defensively tonight. John Brown kept them in the game, and what a game for a 6'4, 190 lbs. player to get 16 rebounds. It made a difference with D.J. Covington out there. 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, that's pretty good right there."

"I told the team before the game that if you go out and play hard we can be the only team in the league, besides Coastal Carolina, to beat Liberty in league play, and this will win give us the tiebreaker against everybody we play in the tournament."