LYNCHBURG -- Seconds after the Big South men's basketball quarterfinal game between VMI and Liberty ended Tuesday night, those still occupying the Vines Center were informed that no one could leave the building because of a tornado warning was in effect.

"Is that right?" said VMI coach Duggar Baucom, not aware of the situation.

"Well, I was an eyewitness for a tornado for about 40 minutes, I know that."

In a fast-paced, whirlwind of a game that rarely slowed, the Flames came out red hot in the second half, shooting 61.5 percent from the field and blew past the Keydets 103-88 in front of 2,077 patrons.

While fourth-seed Liberty (15-14) moved onto Thursday's semifinals in Asheville, N.C., where it will meet top-seed UNC Asheville on its home floor, No. 5 VMI closed the book on a 14-15 season.

The contest also marked the final game in a Keydet uniform for star senior forward and All-Big South selection Reggie Williams, who finished with a team-high 30 points and nine rebounds.

"I had a good time at VMI, but it's not a good way to go out," said Williams, who exits as the leading all-time scorer in Big South and VMI history. "It was a tough loss, with it being my final game with coach and my teammates. So I'm not too happy about the way things turned out."

Baucom, who had Williams for the last three of his four years on post, said he's going to sorely miss Williams, who still has a shot to lead Division I in scoring for second straight season.

"I tell people all the time at VMI they had better enjoy him, because I'm not sure not only Reggie, but the twins [juniors Chavis and Travis Holmes] ... those three guys. I can recruit but I can't do a whole lot better than that. Those guys have been awesome, all three of them.

"And Reggie's final game ... when the finality hits, it really is disappointing for everybody. What he gave the VMI Nation, the Big South and mid-level college basketball has been pretty special."

The way Liberty shot the ball was also pretty special. The Flames were 34-for-64 from the field (53.1 percent), including 17-for-35 from 3-point range. Liberty's 17 makes from the beyond the arc was a tournament record.

Junior guard Anthony Smith nearly doubled his season's scoring average, producing 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting with four 3-pointers.

Sophomore guard Kyle Ohman was 7-for-9 on 3s -- the only shots he attempted -- en route to a career-high 21 points.

Guard B.J. Jenkins added 18 points, and senior forward Alex McLean had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Senior point guard TeeJay Bannister did much of the set-up work, recording 14 assists.

"I had been telling myself all day that it was going to be one of those nights," said Ohman, whose previous high was 17 points. "I was just getting open looks and T.J. was finding me and I was just hitting shots. He does all the work, I just put the ball in the hole."

Led by a combined 45 points by the Holmes twins and Williams, VMI trailed by as many as nine points late in the first half before rallying to draw to 48-47 at halftime.

Liberty began the second half on fire, unloading a 26-8 salvo that put the Flames in command at 74-55. With Liberty going zone, VMI's perimeter shooting fell off in the final 20 minutes as they hit only 14 of 37 shots, including 5-for-19 from 3-point land.

"They have shooters, they've got a point guard, they've got big men ... we really had no answer for them," said Chavis Holmes who had 26 points. "Really wasn't much we could do."

VMI (14-15)

Williams 12-25 5-8 30, Lonon 1-1 0-0 2, C. Holmes 9-16 3-3 26, T. Holmes 6-16 4-6 19, Josey 0-1 0-0 0, Bell 0-1 0-0 0, Brownfield 1-2 0-0 3, Hunter 3-6 0-0 8. Totals 32-68 12-17 88.

LIBERTY (16-15)

McLean 5-9 3-4 13, Jenkins 5-13 4-4 18, Smith 11-18 4-6 30, Ohman 7-9 0-0 21, Bannister 1-4 1-2 3, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 2-6 0-0 5, Layer 0-0 2-2 2, Lafser 1-1 4-4 6, Monroe 0-1 0-0 0, Porter 2-3 0-0 5, Quarles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-64 18-22 103.

Halftime--Liberty 48-47. 3-Point Goals--VMI 12-30 (C. Holmes 5-8, T. Holmes 3-7, Hunter 2-4, Brownfield 1-2, Williams 1-8, Josey 0-1), Liberty 17-35 (Ohman 7-9, Jenkins 4-8, Smith 4-10, Porter 1-2, Anderson 1-5, Bannister 0-1). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--VMI 31 (Williams 9), Liberty 42 (McLean 13). Assists--VMI 14 (T. Holmes, Williams 4), Liberty 26 (Bannister 14). Total Fouls--VMI 19, Liberty 12. A--2,077.