Men: VMI 78, Liberty 58 in Big South semifinal

RADFORD -- The Virginia Military Institute Keydets are one win away from their first NCAA tournament berth since 1977 after a 78-58 victory over the Liberty Flames tonight in a Big South tournament semifinal game tonight at Radford's Dedmon Center.

The Keydets held Liberty's best player, Seth Curry, scoreless after halftime as they pulled away. They play Radford or North Carolina-Asheville in Saturday's 4 p.m. final.

Liberty led 32-27 at halftime, as Curry, Kyle Ohman and Anthony Smith combined for 21 points -- 10 by Curry. He said the Flames had prepared for VMI's defense, the one the Keydets used in the teams' last meeting, a 109-72 VMI victory on Feb. 24.

VMI senior guard Chavis Holmes said the Keydets felt that Liberty "played pretty much as good as they could have played in the first half."

The Keydets struggled for the first 20 minutes as their offensive linchpin, the 3-point shot, failed them. They shot 3 of 16 -- a dismal sign for a team that takes 53 percent of its shots from behind the arc and makes them at a 36-percent clip.

VMI coach Dugger Baucom knew what he wanted from his team the rest of the way.

During the halftime break, standing outside the locker room, he told his assistants, "We're going 94."

As in 94 feet, the full length of the basketball court -- tough offense and tough defense the rest of the way.

Baucom walked into the locker room and reminded the Keydets that the game was on television, ESPNU. "For 20 minutes, people saw what VMI basketball is not," he told them. "The next 20 minutes, let's show them what it is."

The Keydets answered his request with second-half runs of 13-3 and 21-4 as they put the game out of reach.

The Keydets had two steals in the first half, eight in the second. The Flames had six turnovers in the first half, 11 in the second. VMI made 7 of 13 3s in the second half, fulfilling Baucom's goal for their offensive outbursts: "Try to be like sharks on blood," he said.

Perhaps most important, Ron Burks -- "the most unknown freshman in the league," according to Baucom -- shut down Curry, the nation's top freshman scorer (20.9 points per game).

"He just never left me," said Curry, who shot 0 of 7 in the second half and finished with 10 points, his third-fewest this season.

Liberty's record dropped to 22-11 with the loss. The Keydets raised their record to 24-7, and now they get another shot at the NCAA playoffs. Two seasons ago, they lost to Winthrop 84-81 in the league title game. This time around, Travis said, "We definitely know that it doesn't stop here."

LIBERTY (22-11)

Spencer 2-2 0-2 4, An.Smith 3-11 7-8 14, Ohman 7-17 0-1 16, Sanders 2-2 0-0 4, Curry 4-15 1-1 10, Stephene 0-2 0-0 0, Baker 3-5 1-2 8, Floyd 1-3 0-0 2, Au.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 9-14 58.
VMI (24-7)

Bell 3-8 0-1 6, C.Holmes 7-15 4-7 22, Kenon 1-8 4-4 7, Burks 5-8 0-0 11, T.Holmes 5-10 4-5 16, Lonon 3-6 4-8 10, Cantafio 0-0 0-0 0, Josey 0-0 0-0 0, Gabriel 1-2 0-2 3, Sparks 1-4 0-0 3, Whiting 0-0 0-0 0, Blosser 0-0 0-0 0, Sargent 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 16-27 78.

Halftime -- Liberty 32-27. 3-point goals -- Liberty 5-22 (Ohman 2-7, Baker 1-2, An.Smith 1-5, Curry 1-8), VMI 10-29 (C.Holmes 4-9, T.Holmes 2-3, Gabriel 1-2, Burks 1-2, Sparks 1-3, Kenon 1-8, Bell 0-2). Rebounds -- Liberty 40 (An.Smith 13), VMI 39 (Bell 11). Assists -- Liberty 12 (An.Smith 5), VMI 15 (T.Holmes 6). Total Fouls -- Liberty 19, VMI 17. A -- NA.