Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995                   TAG: 9501260036
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS
DATELINE: DAVIDSON, N.C.                                 LENGTH: Short

WILDCATS TOPPLE KEYDETS

Ray Minlend sparked a decisive run and scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half Saturday as Davidson held off VMI 83-75 in a Southern Conference basketball game.

Davidson (9-6 overall, 2-1 conference) won despite squandering two nine-point leads during the first half and failing to convert a field goal in the game's final 10 minutes, 9 seconds.

The Keydets (2-10, 0-3) lost their 10th straight game.

George Spain's short jumper lifted Davidson to a 37-28 lead with 2:49 in the first half, but freshman guard Brian Taueg hit successive 3-point jumpers to cap an 8-0 Keydets run, drawing VMI to one. Davidson clung to a 40-38 lead at intermission.

VMI drew no closer, although Lester Johnson's follow got the Keydets to 52-48 with 12:21 remaining in the game.

Minlend came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer, a putback and a free throw in succession as the Wildcats built their largest lead at 62-48.

Davidson made 25 of 33 free-throw attempts in the last 20 minutes to seal the victory. Brandon Williams, the leading free-throw shooter in NCAA Division I, converted all 10 of his attempts and led all scorers with 20 points. Quinn Harwood added 15, and Spain scored 10 for the Wildcats.

Bobby Prince of Blue Ridge and Taueg each scored 17 to pace the Keydets, and Johnson added 12. Junior forward Lawrence Gullette, VMI's leading scorer (18.3 ppg), was held to 11 points.