Keydets Face Hampton Sunday in First Meeting Between Schools

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LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI basketball team continues its December homestand with the first ever meeting with Hampton University Sunday afternoon. Tipoff between the Keydets and Pirates will be 1 pm at Cameron Hall and it will be part of the Keydet Classic series. VMI had its Southern Conference opener with Mercer Thursday night postponed due to COVID-19 issues and a makeup date has yest to be determined. The Hampton contest will be VMI's second meeting against a Big South Conference school this season. Due to state health requirements, Cameron Hall seating will be limited, but those spectators who wear a holiday sweater and purchase available tickets on game day get an adult general admission ticket for $10 and youth ticket for $6. The ticket office will open 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Last Time Out: VMI 100, Greensboro 65
The VMI basketball team used hot shooting to breeze to a 100-65 victory Tuesday against Greensboro College in a non-conference game from Cameron Hall. The Keydets jumped out quickly on a Greensboro team that defeated Division 1 Longwood University 67-64 on Sunday in a contest that was an exhibition for the Pride. The Keydets opened 8-0 and 14-2 leads in the early going, hitting their first seven shots from the floor - including five three-pointers. Kamdyn Curfman and Sean Conway each hit a pair of treys before VMI misfired from the field for the first time more than five minutes into the contest. VMI closed the half ahead 55-28, hitting 10-of-18 threes and 18-29 shots (62%) from the floor. The Keydets had 17 assists on 18 made baskets in the first 20 minutes. VMI pushed the lead to 31 at the 15:47 mark and led by 30 or more the rest of the way. Senior Myles Lewis scored a season-high 17 points with a game-best 10 rebounds and four assists. He hit 6-of-8 from the field and all four of his free throws.

Last Time against Hampton: First Meeting

A win over Hampton would:
---Move VMI to 4-0 at home for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
---Give the Keydets their second win over a Big South Conference opponent this season

VMI vs. Hampton
First meeting between the schools.

LEWIS CONTINUES DOUBLE STREAK
With 17 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night against Greensboro College, senior guard Myles Lewis posted his second consecutive double-double in as many games and third of his career. Lewis had 13 points and 12 rebounds in the Dec. 3 game at 16th ranked Virginia Tech. Lewis is averaging 11.0 rebounds a game over his last three contests and leads the Keydets on the boards averaging 8.8 per game which ranks sixth in the SoCon.

SEASON BEST SHOOTING
VMI's posted season highs in FG%, 3-point %, and FT% in its 100-65 win over Greensboro College Tuesday night. Against the Pride, the Keydets fired 55% from the floor (33-60), 44.1% from beyond the arc (15-34) and 19 of 21 from the charity stripe. VMI also amassed a season high 26 assists on 33 made field goals.

CENTURY MARK REACHED
The 100 points scored by VMI against Greensboro College Tuesday night was the first time the Keydets had scored 100 points in a game since 106 were booked against Kentucky Christian at Cameron Hall on November 20, 2018.

BONHAM BREAKS OUT
Freshman guard Trey Bonham has upped his point production over the last two games and has averaged 10.5 points over that span. Against Greensboro College Dec. 8, Bonham grabbed four rebounds and handed out three assists, both season highs.

SCHEDULE CHANGES
The VMI-Mercer game at Cameron Hall was postponed due to COVID-19 issues. No makeup date has been determined…The December 21 game at Wake Forest was canceled Dec. 7 due to COVID-19 issues with the Demon Deacon program…a replacement game is expected to be announced in the coming days… The December 18 game at Gardner-Webb will now have a noon tip-off in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

PARHAM TOPS 20 AGAIN
Senior guard Greg Parham had a 20+ scoring game in back-to-back games for the first time in his career when he scored a season-high 22 points which included four 3-pointers Dec. 1 against Longwood. That was preceded with 21 points at Penn State Nov. 28. Through five games, Parham leads VMI in scoring averaging 15.4 points per game.

CONWAY CAREER-HIGH PACES KEYDETS IN LONGWOOD WIN
Senior guard Sean Conway scored a career-high 19 points including 12 in the second half, to lead VMI past Longwood 84-71 Dec. 1 at Cameron Hall. Conway also grabbed five rebounds and had three steals on the evening.

CURFMAN ON TARGET
Sophomore guard Kamdyn Curfman drained a career-high tying five 3-point shots in a 17-point effort at Penn State Nov. 28. It marked the fourth time that Curfman had connected five times from beyond the arc.

VMI PLACES SIX IN DOUBLE FIGURES SCORING
Balanced scoring highlighted VMI's season opening win against St. Andrews Nov. 25 as six Keydets reached double figures scoring including freshman guard Trey Bonham. It was the first time since last year's regular season finale at Samford Feb. 29 that VMI had six tally 10+points in a contest.

NEW OPPONENTS FOR 2020-21
VMI will be facing four new opponents in 2020-21 that started with the season opener against St. Andrew's on November 25. Also facing VMI for the first time this year are Greensboro College, Hampton University and Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.

THREE SHOOTING SPREE EXTENDED?
Keydet fans are hoping for a continuation of last season's formidable shooting from beyond the arc. VMI in 2019-20 ranked second in Division I in three-pointers made averaging 10.9 per game, second only to North Florida. VMI hit 18 three-pointers against Samford in the opening round of the SoCon tournament March 6 and for the season connected on 359 threes – third most on the school all-time list.

KEYDET CAPSULE LOOK
VMI returns 10 players from last year's roster including three starters. The 2020-21 roster consists of four seniors, two juniors, four sophomores, and five freshmen.

EARL ENTERS SIXTH SEASON
VMI head basketball coach Dan Earl enters his sixth season as head coach of the Keydets and is moving into some select company in the Keydet all-time coaching ranks. Earl joins Louis "Weenie Miller (1958-64) and Charlie Schmaus (1976-82) as coaches who reached six seasons at the helm. Only Joe Cantafio (1986-94), Duggar Baucom (2005-15) and Bart Bellairs (1994—05) had longer tenures as basketball head coach at the Institute.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Sean Conway: G; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#10 Kamdyn Curfman: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Myles Lewis: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#5 Greg Parham: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#2 Trey Bonham: G; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#30 Sean Conway
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#10 Kamdyn Curfman
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#15 Myles Lewis
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#5 Greg Parham
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#2 Trey Bonham
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: G

VMI Athletics

Scoreboard

Keydets Face Hampton Sunday in First Meeting Between Schools

Players Mentioned

#30 Sean Conway

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

#15 Myles Lewis

#5 Greg Parham

#2 Trey Bonham

Players Mentioned

#30 Sean Conway

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

#15 Myles Lewis

#5 Greg Parham

#2 Trey Bonham