VMI Basketball vs. Mercer - Liston (Story)
Barbee World Photography
77
Winner Mercer Mercer 11-7,3-2 SoCon
67
VMI VMI 6-12,1-4 SoCon
Winner
Mercer Mercer
11-7,3-2 SoCon
77
Final
67
VMI VMI
6-12,1-4 SoCon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mercer Mercer 36 41 77
VMI VMI 33 34 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Keydets falter late in loss to Mercer

LEXINGTON, Va. – In a back-and-forth battle for much of the game, the VMI basketball team gave its best effort but came up short in the final minutes as visiting Mercer earned a 77-67 win over the Keydets Thursday night at Cameron Hall.
 
With the loss, VMI falls to 6-12 overall and 1-4 in the Southern Conference while Mercer improves to 11-7, 3-2 in league play.
 
Mercer's Armani Mighty grabbed 25 rebounds in the game – 11 offensive rebounds and 14 defensive – to earn a new Cameron Hall facility record held by a former Mercer Bear. Former Mercer center Calvin Henry earned 22 boards against VMI back on December 9, 2006, which was the previous single-game high for a contest held at Cameron Hall.
 

 
Game Summary
The Bears jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead in the opening minutes but VMI rebounded quickly to pull within one, 14-13, at the 14:39 mark after a Mario Tatum layup. The Bears regained a seven-point lead at the 9:46 mark after a Baraka Okojie layup, but VMI kept the course and continued to battle back to draw within three, 36-33, at the break.
 
TJ Johnson and Linus Holmstrom led the Keydets with 10 points apiece after the first 20 minutes.
 
After zero ties and zero lead changes in the first half, the second half featured eight lead changes and six ties as the teams battled to the finish.
 
After trailing the entire first half, the Keydets knotted the score at 36-36 in the opening minute of the second half after a Cal Liston trey. Liston gave VMI its first lead of the game not even a minute later following another three-pointer that put the Keydets up, 39-36, at the 18:41 mark.
 
With the game tied at 58-58 with 5:41 to play, the Bears gradually pulled away and led by a 67-60 count with 3:10 on the clock. VMI had to resort to fouling in the final minutes and Mercer was effective in converting from the charity stripe to escape with the league victory.
 
Key Stats
*Liston finished the game with a career-high four three-pointers as he hit 4-5 for the night
*Liston also tied his career high with two blocks during the game
*Holmstrom led VMI with 18 points as he hit four treys to go with three steals
*TJ Johnson logged 15 points by registering three treys
*Mercer's Brady Shoulders logged a game-high 20 points, including 18 in the paint
*VMI had 18 points off the bench to Mercer's 11, but the Bears countered with 50 points in the paint to VMi's 18 and had 23 second-chance points to the Keydets' five
 
Up Next
VMI faces a quick turnaround when rival The Citadel visits Cameron Hall Saturday night at  7 p.m.
 
The game will feature a 50-year reunion celebration of the 1976 and 1977 VMI Basketball teams that earned respective Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen finishes at the NCAA Tournament. Many members of those squads will be on hand to be recognized for the feat.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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