louis tang at penn state
Craig Houtz

Men's Basketball

VMI Faces Presbyterian Again to Kick Off UNO Classic

LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Basketball continues its longest road trip of the season as it commences play in the UNO Classic in New Orleans - a three-game multi-team event that pairs the Keydets against Presbyterian College Tuesday at 4 pm ET.

VMI will then tangle with Central Arkansas Thanksgiving Day at 4 pm ET before closing out the Classic Friday against host University of New Orleans at 2 pm ET. The Keydets will be facing Presbyterian for the second time in two weeks as the Blue Hose edged the Keydets in OT, 73-72 on November 12 in Clinton, South Carolina.

VMI vs. Presbyterian - Wednesday, Nov. 24 - 4 pm
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

VMI vs. Central Arkansas - Thursday, Nov. 25 - 4 pm
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

VMI vs.  New Orleans - Friday, Nov. 26 - 2 pm
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT – VMI basketball team rallied from seven points down with just over a minute to play to force overtime Saturday, but Marist College recovered in the extra session to beat the Keydets 78-74. VMI junior guard Kamdyn Curfman netted a career-high 27 points in the non-conference contest from McCann Arena. The Red Foxes led 32-25 at halftime and by as many as 10 in the second half. VMI trailed 66-59 with 1:18 on the game clock before Curfman took over. He scored the final seven points of regulation, including a layup with eight seconds left to tie the game at 66. The VMI defense held Marist scoreless the final 3:42 to send the game to OT. Marist went ahead 76-72 in the extra period with 17 seconds left. Curfman made two free throws with eight seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game, but Ricardo Wright sealed the win for the hosts with two free throws. Curfman hit five three pointers and all six of his free throws to go with five rebounds and four assists. Sean Conway had 18 points and eight rebounds, hitting 7-of-11 from the field while Jake Stephens produced a full stat line of 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four blocked shots and two steals. Freshman Honor Huff tied a career-high with nine points. Wright finished with a game-high 29 points for Marist (2-2) and Noah Harris had 12. Samkelo Cele posted 11 points and eight rebounds.The Red Foxes held VMI to just 29 percent (10-35) shooting from three-point range. 
 
LAST MEETING WITH PRESBYTERIAN –  November 12, 2021 - 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 at the Templeton Center in Clinton, South Carolina. With VMI 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. Harrison again scored to put Presbyterian up, 71-70, in OT 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. Stephens finished the game with 23 points and nine rebounds 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 career-high 32 points by going 13-23 from the field including four treys. Winston Hill ended up with 22 points and 12 boards – six offensive – in a double-double effort for the evening.  Presbyterian's 20 offensive rebounds on the night resulted in 15 second-chance points for the Blue Hose. 
 
A WIN OVER PRESBYTERIAN WOULD ...
--- Give VMI its first road win of the season
--- End a three-game skid against the Blue Hose
 
VMI vs. Presbyterian College
This will be 18th meeting between the schools that were once conference rivals in the Big South Conference from 2008-2014. The teams have met in six of the last seven seasons in a non-conference setting. VMI leads in head-to-head matchups 9-8 but PC has won three straight and four of the last six meetings.
 
VMI vs. Central Arkansas – First meeting between schools.
 
VMI vs. New Orleans – New Orleans leads, 1-0 after defeating the Keydets, 62-49 on Dec. 28, 2004.
 
CURFMAN SETS CAREER HIGH – Junior guard Kamdyn Curfman scored a career-high 27 points at Marist Saturday night and matched his career-high of five 3-pointers in a game for the 12th time. Curfman currently leads the Keydets in scoring with 18.0 points per game.

TANG RETURNS TO ACTION – Junior guard Louis Tang returned to action November 16 against Keystone after nearly a year layoff rehabbing from a knee injury sustained against Longwood on December 1, 2020. In 15:30 of action in his 2021-22 debut, Tang scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists.

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.




 
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Players Mentioned

Sean Conway

#30 Sean Conway

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
Kamdyn Curfman

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Jake Stephens

#34 Jake Stephens

C
6' 10"
Junior
Louis Tang

#0 Louis Tang

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
Honor Huff

#3 Honor Huff

G
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Sean Conway

#30 Sean Conway

6' 5"
Sophomore
G
Kamdyn Curfman

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Jake Stephens

#34 Jake Stephens

6' 10"
Junior
C
Louis Tang

#0 Louis Tang

6' 4"
Sophomore
G
Honor Huff

#3 Honor Huff

5' 10"
Freshman
G