Brian McWalters | RoadWin Photos
71
Chattanooga UTC 6-9,0-2 SoCon
79
Winner VMI VMI 6-9,1-1 SoCon
Chattanooga UTC
6-9,0-2 SoCon
71
Final
79
VMI VMI
6-9,1-1 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Chattanooga UTC 23 48 71
VMI VMI 39 40 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

VMI hangs on for 79-71 win over Chattanooga

LEXINGTON, Va. – Looking to bounce back from Thursday's loss to open conference play, the VMI basketball team rebounded nicely with a 79-71 win over visiting Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Cameron Hall.
 
The win gave VMI its first league victory of the season to improve to 6-9 overall and 1-1 in the SoCon while the Mocs fall to 6-9, 0-2. The victory was significant for the Keydets in that it broke a seven-game losing streak to the Mocs and gave VMI Head Coach Andrew Wilson his first victory over his VMI predecessor and Chattanooga Head Coach Dan Earl.
 
The win over Chattanooga marked the first time since VMI  defeated the Mocs since  February 19, 2022, an 80-75 VMI win in Chattanooga.
 
Game Summary
The Keydets took control of the game early on and never trailed as VMI earned a commanding 39-23 lead at halftime. VMI went on a 10-0 run in the final moments of the opening half to earn the advantage and eventually built what proved to be an insurmountable 19-point lead at the 13:13 mark of the second half.
 
VMI went cold midway through the second half, however, and the Mocs started hitting shots as Chattanooga fought back to cut the deficit to 56-53 with 6:38 to play following a 16-0 run. The Keydets quickly built the lead back up to eight after a pair of Alexander Daushvili free throws, but the Mocs countered and came back to within three points, 66-63, with 3:07 left after a Billy Smith basket.
 
The Mocs made a final surge over the last three minutes but the Keydets hit eight of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to keep Chattanooga at bay and hang on for the big conference win.
 
Key Stats
*Daushvili matched his season high with 14 points and was just one rebound shy of his first career double-double as a Keydet
* Tan Yildizoglu played his best game of the season to this point after achieving a game-high 22 points – just one away from his career best – as he matched his career high with four treys and ended up with a game-high seven buckets
*TJ Johnson (17) and Linus Holmstrom (12) also scored in double figures for VMI
*UTC's Billy Smith led the Mocs with 17 points while Tate Darner also finished with double digits with 16. Former Keydet Brennan Watkins finished with nine points by hitting three treys
 
Up Next
The Keydets hit the road  for a pair of away games next week as they travel to ETSU Wednesday night before taking on Furman next Saturday afternoon in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
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