LEXINGTON, Va. - After wrapping up a three-game homestand, VMI basketball hits the road to face ETSU Saturday afternoon in Johnson City, Tennessee. Tipoff will be 4 p.m. and the game will be carried in select SoCon markets as part of the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week TV package. The game can be seen in the Lexington area on WWCW (Roanoke/Lynchburg). The Keydets will play three of their next four contests on the road after falling to Western Carolina, 97-85, Wednesday night at Cameron Hall. VMI, which scored 80 or more points for the sixth time this season, will be looking to snap a five-game skid Saturday when it faces ETSU at Freedom Hall. The Keydets and Bucs will also play February 15 in Lexington.
 
The game will tip at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on Nexstar (TV) and ESPN3 (WatchESPN app / espn.com).
 
Last Time Out: Western Carolina 97, VMI 85 - January 8, 2020
Three players scored 20 points each Wednesday evening as Western Carolina University defeated the VMI men's basketball
team 97-85 in a Southern Conference game. VMI's Garrett Gilkeson filled up the stat sheet for the second-straight game. The senior guard posted team-highs of 18 points, six assists and two steals to go with eight rebounds. He made all nine of his free-throw attempts and VMI got to the free throw line 21 times, tying for the third-most on the year. Six Keydets reached double figures in a balanced offensive attack, with Jake Stephens and Myles Lewis each netting 13. Freshmen Travis Evee and Kamdyn Curfman had 11 points apiece and Greg Parham had 10 with four assists. Tyler Creammer narrowly missed a double double with nine points and a team-high 10 boards. Carlos Dotson paced Western Carolina (11-3/3-0 SoCon) with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Mason Faulkner had 20 points and 10 rebounds while Matt Halvorsen hit four three-pointers on his way to 20 points. Tyler Harris added 13 points and Onno Steger had 10 points and six rebounds. WCU shot 32-of-64 from the floor (50%) and 11-of-28 (39%) from behind the three-point stripe.
 
Last Meeting with the Bucs: ETSU 94, VMI 70 - Feb. 21, 2019 - Lexington, Va.
Despite a career-high 27 points from VMI sophomore guard/forward Myles Lewis, the visiting East Tennessee State University (ETSU) men's basketball team defeated the Keydets 94-70 in a Southern Conference game. The game was tied at 39 all after 20 minutes, but ETSU outscored VMI 55-31 in the second half, including a 17-1 run to start the period. The Buccaneers shot 74 percent from the floor in the second half (20-27). Lewis hit 9-of-18 shots and 9-of-11 from the free-throw stripe en route to his career-high point total. He added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Sarju Patel hit a pair of three pointers and finished with 12 points, and junior Garrett Gilkeson had nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Freshman center Jake Stephens hit both of his three-point attempts and had eight points. The tough Buccaneer defense held Bubba Parham, the conference's leading scorer with 20.7 points a game, to 0-of-12 shooting and just two points on the night. Bo Hodges led ETSU (22-7/12-4 SoCon) with 26 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Daivien Williamson netted 20 points, while Tray Boyd had 16 of his 18 points after intermission. Mladen Armus cleared 12 rebounds to help the Buccaneers hold a 39-24 edge on the boards. ETSU had a 50-12 advantage in bench scoring and 54-26 in points scored in the paint.
 
A win over ETSU would:
--- End an eight-game skid against the Bucs
--- Give VMI its first SoCon win of the year
 
SERIES HISTORY
VMI vs. ETSU
This will be the 64th meeting between the teams that first met in 1953. ETSU leads the series, 49-14, and has taken the last eight meetings including an 85-82 win in Johnson City last year and a 94-70 in decision in Lexington.