Tuesday night’s basketball matchup between VMI and Presbyterian turned into an exercise in perseverance.
Down by 12 points late in the first half, VMI clawed their way back to overtake the Blue Hose midway through the second before pulling away down the stretch for the 76-61 win in the friendly confines of Cameron Hall in Lexington.
It was an uphill battle for the Keydets for the first 28 minutes.
Presbyterian scored the game’s first seven points before VMI fought back to close to within 18-16 at the 8 minute mark. The Blue Hose then went on a 16-6 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 34-22 with 3:27 remaining before the break. The teams went to the locker room with Presbyterian holding a 38-30 advantage.
VMI looked like a different team out of the break, with redshirt senior Jordan Weethee’s bomb from behind-the-arc knotting things at 43 with 14:22 to go. Just over two minutes later, junior standout QJ Peterson hit from long range to give the Keydets their first lead of the game, 46-43.
Although the Blue Hose would forge a 46-46 tie at the 11:11 mark, VMI scored the next 10 points on a pair of free throws by junior Julian Eleby, a layup by Weethee and back-to-back 3-pointers by Peterson and Weethee.
Presbyterian would get no closer than 5 the rest of the way and VMI pushed its lead back to double digits with 3:53 left on a free thrown by sophomore Fred Iruafemi that paved the way for a 9-4 Keydet surge down the stretch that doused any hopes of a Blue Hose comeback.
“We played defense and picked up our intensity,” Peterson, who finished with a team-high 25 points, noted of the Keydet turnaround. “We stayed together and were holding them to one shot.. Then we started hitting some threes. Once we got the lead we put our foot down. We had to protect our home court.”
“It was big for the team,” Weethee said of his key basket that got VMI over the hump. “The place was going crazy and I looked up at the scoreboard and realized we had tied it. Then, I hit some shots and we were able to bring it. In the first half it was not the effort we needed to win. We shared the ball in the second half and got back on defense.”
“It’s a new style of play for everybody,” first-year VMI head coach Dan Earl pointed out after the win that moved the Keydets to 2-2 on the season. “In second half we started being efficient. We shared the ball, played defense and the ball was going in the basket. We were more energetic on both ends. QJ had a great game. It’s good going to the holiday break with a win under our belt.”
Eleby finished with 16 points for VMI, with Weethee and junior Trey Chapman each netting 11.
DeSean Murray, the only Blue Hose player in double digits, finished with a game-high 26 points.
After a road trip to Campbell, VMI returns to Cameron Hall on December 2nd for a 7pm tipoff with Central Penn.
– Bill Turner
