Keydets Fall to Mercer in SoCon Semifinals

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Looking to continue its momentum following Saturday's big upset over No. 3 seed Furman, the No. 6 seed VMI basketball team fell by a 73-59 score to No. 7 seed Mercer Sunday night at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

The loss puts an end to VMI's breakthrough 2020-21 season in which the Keydets registered a 13-12 overall record, including a 7-7 record in the Southern Conference, and three wins over the top-ranked team in the league at the time of the matchup. It also marked VMI's first winning season since the 2013-14 campaign.

The Keydets struggled from three-point range in the loss as they hit just four of 25 attempts throughout the game and could not keep pace with the Bears (18-10, 8-9).

While both teams struggled in the first half shooting, the Bears raced to a 33-26 halftime lead and kept the same pace during the second half to outscore the Keydets, 40-33, and gradually built a 17-point lead with only minutes to play en route to the victory. Mercer grabbed 12 offensive rebounds throughout the night which led to a 13-3 second-chance points advantage to aid the Bears to victory. The Bears also benefited from bench play as 20 points came from the reserves.

Senior Myles Lewis finished the game with a double-double by scoring a season-high 24 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in his final game as a Keydet. Fellow senior Greg Parham went 5-14 from the field and yielded 12 points while Jake Stephens and Kamdyn Curfman scored nine points apiece.

The Bears were led by 23 points from guard Neftali Alvarez, who went 9-19 from the field including three treys. Felipe Haase contributed 15 points and Leon Ayers III poured in 14.

Mercer advances to face No. 1 seed UNCG for the SoCon Tournament title. Tipoff is slated for Monday night at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

VMI Head Coach Dan Earl Postgame Quotes:
"First of all, congrats to Coach Gary and the Mercer basketball team – they played an excellent game tonight. We knew the challenge at hand…they move very well offensively and are very tough to guard. Physically, they're very tough, as well. You can see how well they're playing right now.

"It's tough. We picked the wrong night to go up against them. We went 4-25 from three – that's a little uncharacteristic of us. I'm really proud of our team, especially our seniors. VMI Basketball took a big step forward this year and they set the foundation for that and led by example. I'm appreciative of all their efforts during their time at VMI.

"I was really proud of how our team handled the pandemic. We asked them to be as disciplined as possible – we have some disciplined kids at VMI. We had some hiccups along the way, but they made big sacrifices and were flexible. They skipped some opportunities to visit family or go out to eat for the benefit of the team. Our guys handled it the best that they could and kept things in perspective. I haven't had conversations with our seniors yet regarding returning for another year that the NCAA has granted. It's difficult to pull off at VMI because we don't have a graduate school. It's most likely that they'll be moving on to different things but I'm super proud of their efforts and very appreciative of them."

2021 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale Brick schedule
Friday, March 5 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) The Citadel 100, (9) Western Carolina 68
Game 2 - (7) Mercer 87, (10) Samford 59

Saturday, March 6 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) UNCG 80, (8) The Citadel 70
Game 4 - (5) ETSU 63, (4) Chattanooga 53
Game 5 - (7) Mercer 62, (2) Wofford 61
Game 6 - (6) VMI 91, (3) Furman 90 (OT)

Sunday, March 7 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) UNCG 77, (5) ETSU 65
Game 8 - (7) Mercer 73, (6) VMI 59

Monday, March 8 (ESPN)
Game 8 - (1) UNCG vs. (7) Mercer, 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Kamdyn Curfman: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Myles Lewis: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#5 Greg Parham: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#34 Jake Stephens: C; 6' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#10 Kamdyn Curfman
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#15 Myles Lewis
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#5 Greg Parham
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#34 Jake Stephens
: 6' 10"; Junior
: C

VMI Athletics

Scoreboard

Keydets Fall to Mercer in SoCon Semifinals

Players Mentioned

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

#15 Myles Lewis

#5 Greg Parham

#34 Jake Stephens

Players Mentioned

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

#15 Myles Lewis

#5 Greg Parham

#34 Jake Stephens