LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior guard Greg Parham became just the 42nd member of the VMI men's basketball team's 1,000-point club Saturday as the Keydets defeated visiting Samford University 85-56 in a Southern Conference game. Parham entered the game with 992 career points and posted eight Saturday, reaching the mark with a three-pointer with 15:07 left in the second half.

The Keydets closed the first half on a 19-8 run to take a 39-31 lead at the break. VMI scored the first seven points of the second half and held a double-digit lead the remainder of the contest. The 7-0 run was part of a larger 32-9 surge to put VMI ahead 71-40 with just over 12 minutes left. The Keydets held Samford to just 1-14 (7%) shooting from three-point range in the game's final 20 minutes. The 29-point win is the largest conference victory under head coach Dan Earl. VMI is 10-1 at home this season.

Sophomore Sean Conway delivered 13 of his game-high 22 points after intermission, drilling 6-of-11 three point attempts with eight rebounds. Junior Jake Stephens scored 14 points, hitting 12-of-14 free throws with five rebounds and four assists and Trey
Bonham had identical totals of 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Kamdyn Curfman nailed five three treys for the second-straight game, the fifth time this year, and eighth time in his career. Curfman finished with 17 points and four assists while Myles Lewis posted six points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Parham added six rebounds and four assists.
 
Jaron Rillie led Samford (6-11/2-8 SoCon) with 11 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Dupree, Preston Parks and A.J. Staton-McCray each had eight.

VMI (11-10/6-6 SoCon) hosts UNCG Wednesday at 7 p.m. in more SoCon action.

Quotes from head coach Dan Earl:
"We came out of the locker room in the second half and played with a lot of energy and it never hurts to make shots and I thought we did a good job of that and sharing the ball. Jake Stephens only had three shot attempts and we certainly want him to get more, but he was able to get to the free throw line. We did a pretty decent job against a team that presses. I thought we also did a pretty decent job of playing with a big lead and time left. Taking appropriate shots, still playing fast when it was there, but also running some offense when it wasn't there."
 
On Greg Parham reaching 1,000 points.
 
"He's a wonderful young man. Super proud of him. We've talked about how much he has improved this past year. It's a tribute to him and his hard work. He's playing with confidence and he's aggressive. His nice for him to get a milestone like this."