Reggie Williams scored 23 po

UNCA’s Sean Smith scored a career-high 23 points last Saturday against VMI.

ints, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out seven assists as VMI roared past UNC Asheville 97-75 in a Big South Conference battle at Justice Center last Saturday night.

The Keydets (13-11, 5-5 BSC) won their third straight contest, while the Bulldogs (18-7, 7-3 BSC) lost for the third consecutive game.

UNCA was led by sophomore forward Sean Smith, who scored a career-high 23 points. Smith was 10-of-17 from the field. Vincent James tallied 13 points and collected seven rebounds. John Williams came off the bench and pumped in 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Williams had plenty of help on the night. Chavis Holmes chipped in 21 points and eight rebounds. Willie Bell finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Travis Holmes had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Williams went 10-of-16 from the field and 3-of-6 from the three-point line.

“We certainly didn’t play well enough to beat VMI tonight,” UNCA coach Eddie Biedenbach said afterward. “Our defense wasn’t good enough, as we gave them way too many easy shots. They also beat us on the boards.”

The Keydets took control from the start using a 20-5 run to race to a 20-11 lead. Bell led the early run with 10 points as he knocked down two treys and scored on two lay-ups.

VMI steadily controlled the game with its rebounding and three-point baskets and pushed the lead to 42-25 at the 2:20 mark when Christian Hunter sank a long three-pointer. The Bulldogs got two baskets from Smith to close to 42-29 at halftime.

In the second half, the Keydets again steadily built on the lead and moved the advantage to 70-47 with 10:22 left on a Chavis Holmes jumper.

The Bulldogs tried to rally and went on a 9-2 run led by seven points from Smith to close to 70-56 at the 8:07 mark.

However, the Keydets responded with an 18-5 run, keyed by back-to-back treys from the Holmes brothers, to race to an 88-61 lead. Asheville could get no closer than the final score.

VMI shot 50 percent (37-of-74) from the field and 42 percent (13-of-31) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs shot 44 percent (30-of-69) from the field and a chilly 23 percent (6-of-26) from the three-point line.

Next, UNCA will head to Radford, Va., for a tip-off at 7 tonight against Radford University.