CHARLESTON, S.C. - The VMI Basketball team will open up a two-game early February road swing beginning Saturday against military college and SoCon rival The Citadel Saturday afternoon in Charleston, South Carolina. Tipoff for the game will be 1 pm and it can be seen on ESPN+. The teams met previously in Lexington on January 18 with the Keydets prevailing 88-79. VMI will conclude the road trip next Wednesday at Chattannoga before returning home February 15 to take on ETSU.
 
Last Time Out: Wofford 79, VMI 73 - Feb. 5, 2020 - Lexington, Va.
Despite a season-high 28 points from guard Garrett Gilkeson, the VMI men's basketball team fell 79-73 Wednesday evening to visiting Wofford College in a Southern Conference game from Cameron Hall. The 6-4 senior from Parkersburg, W. Va. poured in 21 of his game-high total after intermission and kept the Keydet comeback hopes alive late in the contest. VMI trailed by 13 with under two minutes left to play, but an aggressive press defense and hot shooting from Gilkeson made it a two-possession game (75-70) with 27 seconds left. Gilkeson netted 11 points in the game's final two minutes, but the Terriers made their last six free throws to hold on for the win.  Gilkeson also tied for the game-high with nine rebounds and added three assists and three steals. He shot 11-of-16 from the field and 4-of-5 from long distance. Sophomore center Jake Stephens scored 11 points and contributed six rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals. Louis Tang scored nine with five rebounds and Greg Parham posted seven points, five assists and four boards. Travis Evee tallied eight points and four assists.  Chevez Goodwin, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, paced Wofford (16-8/8-3 SoCon) with a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds with 20 trips to the free-throw line. Nathan Hoover had 18 points and Trevor Stumpe had nine points and four assists. The Terriers made 26-of-43 attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Last Meeting with the Bulldogs: VMI 88, The Citadel 79 - Jan. 18, 2020 - Lexington, Va.
Sophomore center Jake Stephens tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds and four three pointers Saturday to push the VMI
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 was its' seventh-straight over the Bulldogs at home in Cameron Hall - a string dating back to the 2013-14 season. Parham's nine helpers are his highest against a D1 opponent.
 
A win over The Citadel would:
--- Sweep the regular season series.
--- Give VMI its first road win this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY: VMI vs. The Citadel
This will be the 114th meeting between the teams that first met in 1921. The Citadel leads the series, 58-55, with the teams splitting the regular season meetings last year and each victorious on its home floor. VMI took the first meeting this season, 88-79, January 18 at Cameron Hall.
 
Gilkeson Tops Career Scoring High
Senior guard Garrett Gilkeson established a new career-high in scoring when he poured in 28 points against Wofford February 5. Gilkeson was 11 of 15 from the floor with four 3-pointers against the Terriers and collected nine rebounds. Gilkeson earlier scored 16 points and eight rebounds in the win against The Citadel Jan. 18 and has also been sharp from the free throw line in conference games hitting 30 of 38 from the free throw line for 78.9% and is leading the Keydets in scoring in league play with a 13.5 PPG average. Gilkeson has also been active on the boards in conference play with a season-high tying 10 rebounds against ETSU January 11. Earlier, the senior tallied 18 points and eight rebounds against Western Carolina January 8 after posting his fifth career double-double and establishing a then career-high in scoring with 22 points along with 10 rebounds against Samford January 4.
 
Parham Doubles String Ends
Junior guard Greg Parham had his seven-game double figures scoring streak snapped Wednesday night against Wofford when he registered seven points. Parham earlier extended his double figures scoring game to seven when he led VMI with a conference-high 19 points at Furman January 20. The scoring burst began against WCU Jan. 8, when Parham scored 10 points and made his first start since December 7. The scoring string also includes 16 points against The Citadel Jan. 18 in a game that Parham handed out a season-high nine assists. On the season, Parham has ten double figures scoring games and averaged 13.1 points over the recent seven-game double figures streak.