The VMI Keydet basketball team is getting used to going the extra mile.
Playing their second double overtime game in less than a week, the Keydets came up just short Thursday night at Cameron Hall in Lexington as UT-Chattanooga pulled out the nail biting 86-82 victory.
VMI used two extra frames to knock off Western Carolina last Saturday night 113-111, and for a while Thursday it looked like Keydet sophomore guard Julian Eleby was going to give an encore performance.
Eleby, who hit three consecutive free throws late in the game to extend the Western Carolina matchup, faced the same situation Thursday when he was fouled with :00.4 seconds left on a 3-point attempt with VMI trailing 67-64.
Eleby stepped to the line and calmly swished three straight to send things to the first overtime against the Southern Conference’s second-place team.
“Three-of-three, it was great it happened,” Eleby said afterward. “It was so quiet while I was shooting. The only thing I was thinking was to get the job done.”
Getting the job done might have been the understatement of the game.
After pouring in a career-high 43 points in the win over Western Carolina, Eleby followed it up with 25 against the Mocs, including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
“I was getting tired, but I played through it,” Eleby, who logged 44 minutes, noted. “It was a tough loss, but everyone on this team played hard.”
Also playing big for the Ketdets was junior Phillip Anglade, who finished with a game-high 26 points. Anglade hit six key shots in the paint and was 14-of-20 from the free throw line, a big turnaround for a guy who entered the game shooting only 40.8 % from the stripe. Anglade also reeled in 6 rebounds, while running the court for 39 minutes.
The game was tight throughout, with 8 ties and 14 lead changes.
In the first overtime, Eleby and Anglade combined for 5 of VMI’s 7 points, including Anglade hitting the second of two attempts with eleven seconds left to tie things at 74 and send the teams to the second five-minute period.
The Keydets never led in the second overtime. Moc’s Tre’ McLean opened the second OT with a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Chattanooga’s Duke Ethridge put the visitors up 84-79 on another bomb from behind-the-arc with 1:27 left. Anglade got the Keydets to within 84-82 with a pair of free throws with 38 seconds left, but the Mocs held off VMI by hitting two free throws down the stretch.
“I’m proud of my team,” Anglade said. “It hurts to lose, but we played hard all game. Now, we have to make a quick turnaround to be ready for Saturday.”
The Keydets can secure a first-round bye in the Southern Conference tournament with a win over Samford in their last home game Saturday in a 1:00 pm tipoff.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” VMI head coach Duggar Baucom noted. “Chattanooga is the second place team in this league for a reason. They have outstanding players.”
“In the second overtime, we had the guys we wanted shooting their 3-pointers,” Baucom added. “They were something like 4-of-39, but they hit when it counted.”
“Eleby had to make three free throws to extend it for the second straight game, and Anglade came up big as well,” Baucom said. “Phil has been working hard and coming in to work on the free throws. It’s in his head, but he’s going to get it. His shots looked better tonight.”
“I wish it had turned out different, but we still control our destiny against Samford,” Baucom pointed out.
VMI also had double digit scoring from Brian Brown and Trey Chapman, with each netting 10 points for the Keydets.
Bill Turner
