Morgan State (13-10) hit six straight free throws over the last 22 seconds of regulation to quell a VMI rally and extend the Bears win streak to three games. The Keydets saw their three-game win streak snapped and fell to 15-12 in the non-conference game.
VMI was led in scoring by senior guard Austin Kenon, who toiled through a 6-for-20 shooting afternoon but hit a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. Junior guard Keith Gabriel added 15 points, including 11 before intermission after nailing three 3-pointers in the first half. Freshman center D.J. Covington posted his third consecutive double figures scoring game with 10 points and led VMI with eight rebounds.
The Keydets didn't find an answer for Bears 6-9 power forward Kevin Thompson who hit all nine of his shot attempts from the floor to finish with a team-high 18 points. Center Rodney Stokes scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while sophomore forward Dewayne Jackson added 10 points. MSU junior forward Aric Brooks hit just 1-of-9 from the field, but converted seven of nine-from-the line including four straight in the waning seconds of regulation to preserve the win for the Bears.
VMI dropped only its second game in 15 outings when it held a lead at halftime.
The Keydets shot 44% in the first half but cooled down to 31% from the floor in the second half.
VMI trailed by as many as seven points in the first half (27-20) after Thompson hit a layup with 7:41 left in the opening half. VMI answered with an 11-2 run and jumped out on top when Gabriel canned back-to-back 3-pointers including a swisher with 2:02 to play before halftime.
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VMI led 35-34 at the break and pushed the lead to four points (40-36) following a pair of Austin Kenon free throws at the 16:46 mark.
The Bears used a string inside game to retake the lead with nine unanswered points as guard Larry Bastfield both started and sandwiched the string with a free throw and a layup to put Morgan State back on top. Thompson's back-to-back layups during the spurt put the Bears up for good and the hosts led 45-40 with 13:49 remaining.
VMI never retook the lead, but never trailed by more than seven points the rest of the way. Bastfiled nailed a jumper to push Morgan State ahead 61-54 with 4:19 left, but the Keydets twice cut the deficit to a one-possession scenario just under the three-minute mark. Stan Okoye hit a layup at the 2:37 mark to pull VMI within 61-58 and the Keydet defense generated stops on MSU's next three trips down the floor.
VMI could not capitalize, however, and missed back-to-back 3-point tries by Gabriel and Kenon converted one of two free throws by Covington to close within a pair, 61-59, with :24 left. The Bears then put the game away at the line with their string of six straight charity tosses and spoil VMI's debut in the BracketBusters event.
VMI returns to Big South play next Thursday at Clinton, South Carolina as it faces Presbyterian College at 7:00 p.m.
VMI HEAD COACH DUGGAR BAUCOM - "The guys fought hard and I was proud of them. They really competed. Morgan State made some plays down the end and he (Thompson) was virtually unstoppable. We had some open looks at the end and if we make those shots, it's a different outcome."
"We stopped making shots in the second half that we made in the first. It was a dogfight the entire second half. They made some 18-footers that you want them to shoot and made their free throws down the stretch when we chose to foul."
"The best thing about this is we didn't get anyone hurt. I told our guys it's time to move on and get ready for next week."
Courtesy: VMIKeydets.com Release: 02/19/2011
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