Mercer Hangs on for 69-66 Win at VMI

LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI men's basketball team tied the score late in the contest, but fell just short Saturday as Mercer University (Ga.) defeated the Keydets 69-66 in a Southern Conference game.
VMI led by as many as five in the first half and had a 16-14 advantage with 10 minutes remaining. Mercer held the Keydets scoreless over the next five minutes to take a 24-16 lead and had a 28-25 edge entering halftime.

The game was tight for the entire second half, and a Jake Stephens layup tied it at 61 all with just under two minutes left on the game clock. Kamar Robertson and Djordje Dimitijevic nailed clutch three pointers for the Bears to make it a six-point game and Dimitijevic sealed the win at the free-throw line.

Myles Lewis scored a team-high 14 points, grabbed a season-high nine rebounds with two steals. Greg Parham shot 5-of-7 from the floor for 12 points and handed out four assists while Stephens hit three three-pointers and ended with 11 points. Travis
Evee had 10 points and Garrett Gilkeson filled the stat sheet with seven points, nine boards, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Parham reached double figures for the sixth-straight game.

The Keydets shot just 17.6 percent (3-17) from three-point range in the first half and 25.6 percent (10-39) for the game. VMI stayed alive with 19 offensive rebounds, five from Lewis and four by Gilkeson. Mercer hit 50 percent (11-22) of its' threes and 46.3 percent total (25-54).  VMI is 1-5 in games this year decided by five points or less.

Dimitijevic, the fourth-leading scorer in the Southern Conference, finished with 25 points, five three pointers and six rebounds. Robertson had 16 points and six rebounds while Jeff Gary added 11 points and six assists.

VMI travels to Greenville, S.C. and Furman University for another SoCon game Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Quotes from head coach Dan Earl:

"It was down to the wire again. Credit to Mercer. They made some big plays down the stretch. Djordje Dimitrijevic - that last three of his was a step back and that's what big time players do and he's playing with a ton of confidence. We switched up some man and match-up zone and he just made some big plays."
 
"I thought we fought and did a lot of good things. It's hard because you look at the stat sheet. We had 19 offensive rebounds, only six turnovers, we got 20 extra shot attempts than them, but unfortunately we did not make enough shots and it was a tough afternoon."
 
"Myles Lewis played with as much intensity as I've seen him play with and that's what he and all of us have got to try to do the entire time. He gave us some very valuable minutes."
 
"I was proud of the guys' effort to continue to fight and continue to grow, but we need a little more to get it done and then hopefully hit more shots next time and keep that confidence level high."