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LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI basketball team will open Southern Conference play Wednesday night when it travels to Birmingham, Alabama to take on the Samford Bulldogs at Pete Hanner Center. The Keydets will be opening up league action this season where it ended its conference slate last year as the Keydets and Bulldogs faced each other in the 2019-20 regular and SoCon season finale. VMI (5-4) will be looking to end a two-game skid after dropping road contests at Gardner-Webb December 18 and George Mason December 21. The Samford game Wednesday will be the last of a three-game December road swing for the VMI which is still seeking its first road win of the year. Samford, under new head coach Bucky McMillian, brings a 4-3 overall mark on the season and is second in the SoCon in scoroing averaging 87.7 points a game in an up-tempo style of play. .
Last Time Out: George Mason 68, VMI 66 - December 21, 2020
Playing in its final non-conference game of the season, the VMI basketball team lost a close 68-66 contest to host George Mason at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Junior Jake Stephens led the way for VMI with his second double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) of the season and third of his career. The Keydets had a 15-0 run over five minutes midway in the first half and took its biggest lead at 30-15 on a Kamdyn Curfman three-pointer at the 5:15 mark. George Mason (3-1, 0-0) quickly changed the game with an 8-0 run in the final minute of the first half and trailed 34-31 at the break. The Patriots scored 12 straight points early in the second half and tied the game on an AJ Wilson dunk and took their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half when Jamal Hartwell II rammed in a three-pointer from the left side to push George Mason ahead 43-40 with just under 15 minutes in the second half. George Mason led 66-57 with 3:07 left but missed four consecutive free throws and the Keydets scored six unanswered points and pulled within 66-63 on a pair of Jake Stephens free throws with 47.1 seconds remaining. The Keydets got a stop and the ball back with 16 seconds left but Stephens' three-point try to tie it fell short and Xavier Johnson converted two free throws with four seconds left to put GMU ahead 68-63. Greg Parham nailed a 3-pointer with 0.4 left for the final margin.
Last Time against Samford: VMI 96, Samford 78 - March 6, 2020
Sophomore Jake Stephens poured in a career-high 24 points including six 3-pointers to lead VMI to a 96-78 win over Samford in the first round of the 2020 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championships at the Harrah's Cherokee Center. VMI snapped an 11-game skid to Samford (10-23) and posted its first win over the Bulldogs since January 21, 2016 thanks to a season-high 18 made 3-pointers including a 6-of-7 shooting performance beyond the arc from Stephens. The 18 threes matched the season best hit earlier against Stetson on December 7 at Cameron Hall. The Keydets placed five in double-figures scoring and also received 16 points from junior Greg Parham. Freshman guard Travis Evee added 16 points while freshman guard Kamdyn Curfman and junior forward Myles Lewis added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Samford redshirt senior Brandon Austin paced the Bulldogs with 20 points while guard Josh Sharkey closed out his college career with 19 points and 10 assists. the Keydets never trailed in the tourney rematch and turned things around early behind blistering 3-point shooting in the first half - going 11-of-20 beyond the arc and taking a 52-30 halftime lead.
A win over Samford would:
---Be VMI's first road win of the season.
---Give the Keydets their first SoCon opener victory since 2014-15.
VMI vs. Samford
This will be 18th meeting between the schools that first met in 1967. Samford leads the series 14-3 and has taken the last 11 of the last 12 in the rivalry. VMI won the last meeting between the teams, 96-78, in the first round of the 2020 SoCon Tournament.
STEPHENS CONTINUES TO ROLL – Junior center Jake Stephens chalked up his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds against George Mason December 21. Stephens previously set a new career-high in points when he tallied 26 against Gardner-Webb December 18 surpassing his previous high of 24 set against Samford in the first round of the 2020 SoCon tournament. Against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs, Stephens hit seven of 15 shots including two 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds while hitting 10 of 11 from the line. Stephens has hit 20 of 21 free throws over and leads the SoCon in free throw shooting at 84.6%.
CURFMAN ON TARGET FROM LONG RANGE – Sophomore guard Kamdyn Curfman drained a career-high tying five 3-point shots for the third time this season and sixth for his career against Gardner-Webb December 18. Earlier, the sophomore marksman nailed five threes against Hampton Dec. 13 in a 17-point effort and also tallied 17 points at Penn State November 28 while hitting five shots from beyond the arc. Through nine games, Curfman is hitting 51.8 % in 3-point shooting which ranks first in the SoCon.
PARHAM HANDING OUT – Senior guard Greg Parham's play has been in the holiday spirit the last three games as he has handed out 13 assists over that span. Parham dished out five assists in VMI's 106-72 win over Clarksburg-Harrodsburg Dec. 15 and followed with a season-high six assists at Gardner-Webb December 18. Through nine games, Parham leads the team averaging 3.9 per game which ranks seventh in the SoCon.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR – After the December 21 game with George Mason, VMI has now played on every day of the week this season, a rare instance this early in the season. In its first nine games, the Keydets have played on Monday once, Tuesday three times, and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday once.
NOTEWORTHY – This is the third straight year and fifth time out of the last six years that the Keydets have opened up SoCon play on the road. VMI was scheduled to play Mercer in Lexington December 10 but that game was postponed due to COVID issues…The December 21 game at George Mason was the first time VMI had dropped a game after leading at the half and outrebounding a foe. The Keydets are 5-1 in such games this year…The 68-66 loss to George Mason was the first VMI game this year decided by five points or less. The Keydets are hoping for better results this year after going 2-8 in such games in 2019-20.
TOPS FROM THE STRIPE – VMI converted 17 of 18 free throws at Geroge Mason December 21 which moved its team FT percentage to 82.2% through nine games – best in the SoCon.
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. Through nine games this season, VMI is second in the SoCon in 3-point shooting averaging 11.2 per game.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST – VMI posted several noteworthy marks in the 106-72 win over Campbellsville-Harrodsburg December 15. The Keydets accumulated assists on 41 baskets which tied for fifth in program history (Last time - vs. Stevenson Nov. 20, 2008). The 106 points scored was the most for the team since a 106-80 victory over Kentucky Christian University on November 20, 2018 and the second time in the last three outings that the Keydets reached the century mark. VMI's 21 threes tied for third most in a game in program history (Last time vs. Johnson Univ. Nov. 18, 2014).
LEWIS DECEMBER DOUBLE STREAK – Senior forward Myles Lewis had his string of three straight double-doubles end on December 15 after 12 points and five rebounds against CU-Harrodsburg. Lewis earlier had posted 14 points and 11 rebounds Sunday against Hampton that followed 17 points and 10 rebounds against Greensboro College Dec. 8. Lewis started the string with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the Dec. 3 game at 16th ranked Virginia Tech. Lewis currently leads the Keydets on the boards averaging 8.0 per game which ranks fourth 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 December 8. 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.
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.
