LEXINGTON, Va – VMI Basketball enters the second week of the 2021-22 season with the same assignments as the opening week – a pair of non-conference games with a Tuesday home game and a road weekend game. The Keydets take on Keystone College Tuesday night at Cameron Hall at 7 pm and wrap up the week on the road at Marist Saturday at 5 pm. VMI (1-1) will be looking to move ahead of the .500 mark against Keystone Tuesday after falling in OT, 73-72 at Presbyterian College Friday night at Templeton Athletic Center in Clinton, South Carolina.

The Keydets shot 50% from 3-point range in the second half to rally from as much as an 11-point deficit and eventually force overtime as Jake Stephens scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Kamydyn Curfman added 18 points and four 3-pointers to lead the Keydets. Keystone College comes into Tuesday's action with a 2-3 mark following an 87-39 loss to Stevenson Saturday night. The Giants compete in the Colonial States Conference
 
LAST TIME OUT –Playing its first road game of the season, the VMI basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion to Presbyterian University by a 73-72 score in overtime Friday night at the Templeton Center in Clinton, South Carolina. With VMI (1-1) ahead 63-59 with three minutes left in regulation, Presbyterian's Rayshon Harrison hit two big jumpers in the final moments to knot the score at 63-all to force the extra period. His first basket in the sequence came following two offensive rebounds with two minutes left, then followed with another jumper with 1:42 on the clock. Both teams' final two possessions of regulation resulted in turnovers and missed jump shot opportunities to go to overtime tied at 63 apiece. In the extra time, VMI's Sean Conway converted a pair of free throws and Kamdyn Curfman hit a big three to put VMI up, 68-64, early on.  Harrison responded with his own set of free throws and a jumper to pull the Blue Hose on top, 69-68, with 2:44 to play. After a pair of free throws by VMI's Trey Bonham, Harrison again scored to put Presbyterian up, 71-70, with 1:19 to go. VMI's Jake Stephens was then fouled and converted his free throws to put VMI on top, 72-71, with 48 seconds left.On Presbyterian's final possession, the Blue Hose picked up two crucial offensive boards to keep the drive alive before Winston Hill was fouled with six seconds remaining. He converted both to put the Blue Hose on top for good, 73-72, for the game's final score. Bonham's three-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked by Harrison to secure the win for the Blue Hose. Stephens finished the game with 23 points to lead the Keydets and earned a career-high six blocks for VMI. Curfman finished with 18 points on the night on 6-14 shooting while Conway added 10 points for VMI. Harrison finished the contest with a game-high 32 points by going 13-23 from the field including four treys.
 
LAST MEETING WITH KEYSTONE – This will be the first ever meeting between VMI and Keystone.
 
A WIN OVER KEYSTONE WOULD ...
--- Move VMI to 2-0 at home on the season
--- Be VMI's 13th win over its last 14 games played at Cameron Hall 
 
VMI ADDS TWO IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD - Virginia Military Institute has announced the signings of 6-8 forward Tyler Houser and 6-4 guard Chance Thacker to National Letters of Intent in the November early signing period. Houser averaged 14 points and eight rebounds last year for Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He earned Mid-Penn Big 15 All-Star honors twice and produced a 19-point performance in Cedar Cliff's District 3 playoff upset of Cumberland Valley. Houser also played for Central PA Elite AAU club team. Thacker attends Providence Christian Academy in Lilburn, Georgian in the Atlanta metro area. He averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists and earned First team Preseason All-State and Gwinnett All-County by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club. A 1,000-point scorer, Thacker was also a member of the First Team All-Region squad and helped his school to a single season record of 24 wins. He was a member of the Atlanta All-Stars club team and was a standout at the GHSA Live Period event averaging 16.0 points on a squad that went a perfect 4-0.

MORE LONG-RANGE ACCURACY – VMI hit 22 three-pointers in the 111-55 win season opening win over Carlow November 9 continuing the prolific perimeter shooting of the past two seasons. The 22 makes from beyond the arc were two away from the school record of 24 set against Southern Virginia in 2008-09. VMI in 2020-21 ranked second in the nation in 3-pointers made per game for the second straight year and averaged 10.8 per game ranking only behind Oral Roberts with 11.1 per contest.  The Keydets drained 10 or more threes in 17 games last season. VMI hit a season-best 58.8% in 3-point shooting when they dropped in 10 of 17 shots from beyond the arc against Chattanooga January 2. In 2019-20, VMI also ranked second in Division I in three-pointers made in 2019-20 averaging 10.9 per game, second only to North Florida. VMI hit 18 three-pointers against Samford in the opening round of the 2020 SoCon tournament March 6 and for the season connected on 359 threes – third most on the school all-time list.