Stephens Posts Double-Double as VMI Basketball Defeats The Citadel 88-79

LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore center Jake Stephens tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds and four three pointers Saturday to push the VMI men's basketball team to an 88-79 Southern Conference victory over The Citadel. Stephens' 18 points (a season high) and 11 boards were game highs and it was the first career double-double for the Bunker Hill, W. Va. native.

Senior guard Garrett Gilkeson also had a big afternoon with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot for VMI. Myles Lewis and Sean Conway each had 12 points and Greg Parham posted 10 points, nine assists and five steals. Tyler Creammer had eight points, five rebounds and two steals and the Keydets' had 22 assists on 29 made baskets.

The Citadel held a 24-19 lead with 10:36 remaining in the first half. A 13-3 VMI run over the next three minutes made the score 32-27 and the Keydets led the rest of the game. VMI held a 48-42 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 15 in the second half before holding off a late Bulldog charge for the win.

The VMI victory is its' seventh-straight over the Bulldogs at home in Cameron Hall, dating back to the 2001-2002 season. Parham's nine helpers is his highest against a D1 opponent.

Kaiden Rice drilled five three pointers to pace The Citadel (6-11/0-6 SoCon) with 17 points. Eddie Davis III had 14 points and eight rebounds while Kaelon Harris tallied 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

VMI (6-14/1-6 SoCon) travels to Wofford on Wednesday for another SoCon game at 7 p.m.

Quotes from VMI head coach Dan Earl:

"Really proud of the guys. We know it's going to be a battle facing The Citadel always. They didn't give up at all and made it interesting. We haven't been in that position a lot late in the game so every time is a learning experience. I told the guys we'll approach it the same way, win or lose, we'll learn from it and move on. But it is nice to get a win."
 
"Jake (Stephens) was awesome today. His three-ball fell a couple of times early which stretched the floor but he was also tough down low. I thought he played really well and battled on the boards."
 
"Garrett Gilkeson and Myles Lewis both played great games and attacked the basket and Sean Conway gave us some valuable minutes off the bench and made some shots. Greg Parham player with some toughness and as we all know he can really see the floor. When he's aggressive, he's playing at his best and getting into the paint and making good decisions."
 
"Defensively, we were much more dialed in as to who their shooters were in the second half."