LEXINGTON -- Maybe VMI buildings and grounds should turn up the thermostat some more in Cameron Hall.

A temperate 86 degrees at game time apparently wasn't enough to inflict heat stroke on Coastal Carolina, which toughed out a 99-97 thriller over the Keydets and their partisan supporters.

The Chanticleers blew a 15-point lead and even fell behind by one point late, but survived when a desperation Chavis Holmes 3-point attempt at the horn was off left.

With the score tied at 97, the Keydets (7-12, 1-3 Big South) -- who like their basketball and their game-time conditions hot -- had a chance to go for the winning shot with top scorer Reggie Williams doing the ballhandling so he'd be guaranteed to take the last shot. Coastal's freshman point guard, Joshua Mack, stole the basketball with 13 seconds left after coming in from the blind side.

"I never saw him coming," said Williams, who had 19 points and seven rebounds.

Travis Holmes then made an amazing recovery and block from behind on Mack's layup attempt, but Coastal's Mario Sisinni was fouled in the scramble for the rebound. He made the first shot of a one-and-one with nine seconds left, and as he missed the second, teammate Joseph Harris swooped in for his 11th rebound.

"There was only one player on our team who could've got to that rebound and that was Harris," said Coastal coach Buzz Peterson, whose team has won six of seven.

Harris sank the first of two foul shots to push Coastal's advantage to two points, but then missed the second. Chavis Holmes, whose triple with 1:03 left had tied the score at 97, snagged the rebound and hustled to the other end for the last failed shot.

"We didn't start playing until there were about 12 minutes left," VMI coach Duggar Baucom said.

VMI's players never seem to think they're out of it and so it was again down the stretch. The Keydets had trailed by as many as 15 points early in the second half before beginning to play with some rhythm.

With less than eight minutes to play, the Keydets proceeded to score on nine of their next 10 possessions. Matt Murrer, who has battled a hamstring injury as well as confidence problems of late, scored eight of his 10 points in the last 6:43 to help spark the comeback.

"Coach has been telling me it's all me, that's it's in my head," Murrer said. "My teammates did a good job tonight of picking me up, of keeping my head in the game."

Another key figure for VMI was guard Fred Robinson, who scored 15 of his team-high 25 points in the first half. Robinson went 6-for-14 from 3-point range on the heels of a school-record nine triples in a career-high 31-point effort last time out against Charleston Southern.

"Fred's having a phenomenal senior season," Baucom said.

The big story for Coastal was Harris. He had to pick up for scoring leader Moses Sonko, who was recovering from a painful knee-on-knee collision in practice Sunday. Sonko had eight points in 21 minutes.

Harris finished with 31 points, made 11 of 14 shots and gathered a game-high 11 rebounds as the Chants (10-7, 3-1) controlled the backboards 40-35.

"We never matched Joseph Harris' energy the entire game," Baucom said. "He abused us. He's a good player."

The Keydets never got a serious roll going the first half, shooting 36.4 percent and missing 22 3-point attempts. Still, the Keydets scored 49 points in the first half as the typically breakneck pace never let up.

Coastal often exploited the Keydets' traps, inevitably ending in an easy shot.

The VMI press did force 14 turnovers, leading to 18 points. But it's hard to say that solid defense could end in 20-for-32 shooting, which was Coastal's total in the first 20 minutes.

"I thought we slept-walked through the beginning of the game," Baucom said.

COASTAL CAROLINA (10-7)

Harris 11-14 9-13 31, Sonko 4-5 0-0 8, Mack 6-13 5-6 19, Richardson 2-5 2-2 6, Leasure 6-13 2-2 17, Sisinni 0-0 1-2 1, Johnson 3-4 1-1 7, Brennan 3-3 0-0 6, Sexton 0-2 0-0 0, Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, Gross 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 37-61 20-26 99.

VMI (7-12)

Bell 2-5 1-2 5, Williams 7-14 5-7 19, Lonon 1-2 0-0 2, C.Holmes 7-23 0-0 18, T.Holmes 4-9 1-2 11, Robinson 7-16 5-5 25, Murrer 5-11 0-0 10, Castleberry 0-0 1-2 1, Pflugner 2-4 0-2 6, Matson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-84 13-20 97.

Halftime--Coastal Carolina 60-49. 3-Point Goals--Coastal Carolina 5-16 (Leasure 3-9, Mack 2-5, Johnson 0-1, Sexton 0-1), VMI 14-50 (Robinson 6-14, C.Holmes 4-16, Pflugner 2-2, T.Holmes 2-6, Lonon 0-1, Bell 0-2, Murrer 0-4, Williams 0-5). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Coastal Carolina 40 (Harris 11), VMI 35 (C.Holmes, Williams 7). Assists--Coastal Carolina 20 (Richardson 6), VMI 24 (Lonon 8). Total Fouls--Coastal Carolina 22, VMI 25. A--1,459.