curfman vs. portland
Evan Luecke / Portland Athletics
90
Winner VMI VMI 5-4,0-0 SoCon
82
Portland UP 7-3,0-0 WCC
Winner
VMI VMI
5-4,0-0 SoCon
90
Final
82
Portland UP
7-3,0-0 WCC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
VMI VMI 49 41 90
Portland UP 31 51 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

VMI Holds Off Portland For 90-82 Road Win

Box Score

PORTLAND - The VMI Keydets had all five starters reach double figures and held off a furious rally by the University of Portland to earn a 90-82 win Friday night at the Chiles Center.
 
VMI (5-4) was paced in scoring by senior center Jake Stephens and sophomore guard Tanner Mans with 18 points each, followed by Kamdyn Curfman (17), Trey Bonham (16), and Sean Conway (11). Mans logged a career-high in scoring while Conway grabbed 11 rebounds for his fifth career double-double.
 
The Keydets never trailed in the contest and led 49-31 at the break after shooting 54.5% and hitting 9 threes in the opening half.
 
VMI extended that lead to 21 points when Curfman dropped in a 3-pointer to open the second half and the Keydets appeared to be on their way to a comfortable night leading 52-31.
 
Portland then hit five of its next six shots including a trio of 3-pointers to close the gap to 60-46 at 15:54 and another 15-2 spurt pulled the Pilots within 65-64 following a Tyler Robertson 3-pointer with 7:15 left in regulation.
 
During Portland's surge, VMI endured a scoring drought of 6:08 that saw the Keydets commit five turnovers and miss 10 straight shots. The cold spell ended when Mans drained a 3-pointer at the 6:24 mark followed by a Stephens 3-point play to swing the momentum back to the Keydets on their way to a 21-4 run capped by a Bonham corner three with a little over a minute left.
 
VMI hit 21 of 24 free throws to help repel a Portland comeback and outrebounded the Pilots 42-27, which included 15 offensive rebounds and 17 second chance points.
 
Chris Austin led Portland (7-3) with a game-high 26 points including six 3-point shots while Tyler Robertson added 19 points and 10 rebounds with five 3-pointers.
 
VMI, visiting the West Coast for the first time in 41 years, posted its first road win of the season and first ever-win over a West Coast Conference opponent.
 
The Keydets wrap up the two-game trip through the Pacific Northwest Sunday at Seattle University with a tip scheduled for 4 pm ET at Climate Pledge Arena.
 
VMI head coach Dan Earl -
"We had two of our best practices heading into this game so we had a good vibe about us and I thought we came out right from the start. We were dialed in and played the right way in the first half which was as good as we've played all year. The second half was not how you draw it up or close out games. It got a little hairy there. But we made enough plays down the stretch to win.
 
"We've been in tight games this year and hopefully this is a step in the right direction to close out games.
 
"They kind of spread us out in the second half and went with a smaller lineup and started swinging it around and banging shots. We got a little tight and didn't execute in the offensive end and had some turnovers. We got another swing at it and were able to push back the lead. I think we are a good free throw shooting team and that certainly helps. Our decisions got better, but it was certainly tight but hopefully we learned from it and it's nice to learn from a win."
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version