rowe vs. carlow
Chuck Steenburgh/SportsPhotoGuy.com

Men's Basketball

VMI Opens Two Game Homestand against Samford

LEADING OFF – VMI (10-8, 3-3) fresh off a road conference win over its military rival The Citadel last Saturday in Charleston, opens up a two-game homestand over three days starting with the Samford Bulldogs Thursday night at Cameron Hall with tipoff slated at 7 pm. The Keydets will be looking for continued success at Cameron Hall this season with a 5-1 mark this year and wins in 16 of the last 18 games played on the home floor that is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Samford, after roaring to a 10-3 non-conference start, has dropped four of its last five - all in conference play - including a close 88-85 home loss to ETSU last Saturday. VMI continues to excel in several statistical categories and leads the SoCon in free throw percentage (.803), field goal percentage defense (.385), assist/turnover ratio (T-1st-1.5), defensive rebounds (30.3) and 3-point field goals per game (12.4). Samford averages 8.2 steals per game which is second best in the league. VMI wraps up the homestand Saturday afternoon against Chattanooga (1 pm tipoff) on Educator's Day with all educators that presents a valid ID receiving a free admission to the game. 

LAST TIME OUT - Senior center Jake Stephens scored 20 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds to help VMI hold off a second half rally by The Citadel and post a 90-85 Southern Conference win Saturday at McAlister Field House. The Keydet victory snapped a three-game skid. VMI held the lead for 38:27 of regulation, but wasn't able to put the game away until the final half minute of the contest. Freshman guard John Roche hit three free throws to pull the hosts within 83-80 with 2:32 to play. Stephens then scored the next four points in the paint to give the Keydets some cushion heading into the final seconds of regulation. Stephens' driving layup after a called timeout made it 85-80 at the 1:22 mark and after getting a stop on the next Citadel possession on a missed Roche 3-pointer, VMI extended its lead as Stephens was credited with a tip-in on an offensive rebound kept alive by teammate Sean Conway and VMI led by seven with :36 left. Conway and junior guard Kamdyn Curfman combined to hit three of four from the foul line over the final 16 seconds to secure VMI's fifth win over their military rivals over the last six meetings. Stephens, who also blocked four shots, was joined in double figures scoring by sophomore guard Trey Bonham with a season-high 17 points giving him five double figures scoring games over his last six outings. Curfman and freshman guard Honor Huff each contributed 15 points as Huff returned to the starting lineup for the first time since late November. The Citadel was paced in scoring by Roche who had 22 points including five 3-pointers.

LAST MEETING WITH THE SAMFORD – February 13, 2021 – The Keydets defeated visiting Samford University 85-56.  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 and Greg Parham became the 42nd player in VMI basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Jaron Rillie led Samford with 11 points and seven rebounds.

A WIN OVER SAMFORD WOULD ...   
--- Move VMI to 4-3 in conference play.
--- Be VMI's third win in the last four games against Samford.
--- Move VMI to 6-1 at home and be the 17th victory over the last 19 games.

VMI vs. Samford
This will be the 20th meeting between the schools that first met in 1967. Samford leads the series 15-4, but the Keydets have taken two out of the last three encounters including the most recent meeting, 83-56, last season in Lexington. Samford prevailed at home, 84-71 in the other meeting last year in Birmingham. 

STEPHENS TAKES POTW HAT TRICK – VMI senior Jake Stephens has been named the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week presented by GEICO for all contests from Jan. 10-16 after posting career highs in points and rebounds and averaging 27 points, 14 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocks in a pair of league contests. Stephens opened his week with a career-high 34 points in a 97-91 setback at Mercer on Thursday, going 13-for-20 from the floor (.650). The 6-11 center was 6-for-7 (.857) from 3-point range on the day and hit both of his free-throw attempts. Stephens added seven rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 37 minutes of action. The Bunker Hill, West Virginia, native had another career effort at archrival The Citadel on Saturday, scoring 20 points and pulling down a career-best 21 rebounds, the most by a SoCon player this season and tied for seventh on the NCAA Division I game-high list this season. Stephens, who played all but two minutes, added five assists and four blocked shots in VMI's 90-85 road win. For the week, Stephens shot 55.9 percent from the floor (19-for-34), 70 percent from 3-point range (7-for-10) and 75 percent from the free-throw line (9-for-12).

A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER AND HOLIDAY CHEER – Senior center Jake Stephens rang in the New Year with a shower of accolades after being named the Lou Henson College Insider National Player of the Week and both SoCon GEICO Player of the Week and December Player of the month. In December, Stephens averaged 21.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game and shot 57.6 percent from the floor in helping VMI to a 4-1 record during the month. As the calendar turned to 2022, Stephens posted 29 points and 15 rebounds against ETSU January 5, his fifth double-double of the season and 11th for his career. Stephens also scored 28 points against Gardner-Webb December 11 to become the 43rd player in VMI history to reach that mark. Stephens equaled his then career bests in rebounds (16) and blocked shots (6) against the Gardner-Webb. Stephens currently leads the team in scoring average with 19.2 PPG (2nd best in SoCon) and has nine 20+ point games this year including six straight contests. He also paces the squad in rebounding (9.1-1st in SoCon) and free throw percentage (85.0%-4th in SoCon). His 2.2 blocks per game rank second in the SoCon. 

CURFMAN A THREAT FROM 
PERIMETER –Senior guard Kamdyn Curfman is ranked second in the SoCon in 3FG per game (3.7) and has scored in double figures in all 19 games this season with five 20+ games including a career-high 27 points at Marist November 20. Curfman matched his career-high in 3-pointers in a game when he nailed six at Wake Forest December 14 equaling the six 3-pointer mark in VMI's 73-67 win over Central Arkansas November 25. Curfman and has hit 5+ 3FG in seven games this season.  
MORE LONG-RANGE ACCURACY – VMI is ranked 2nd in the nation in three-pointers per game averaging 12.4 per contest and have hit 10+ threes in 15 games this season. Through games of January 13, the SoCon has four of the top seven teams in the nation in three-pointers made per game with Furman 4th, Western Carolina-5th, and The Citadel tied-6th. 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. In 2019-20, VMI also ranked second in Division I in three-pointers made averaging 10.9 per game, second only to North Florida. VMI on 359 threes that season third most on the school all-time list.







 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Sean Conway

#30 Sean Conway

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
Kamdyn Curfman

#10 Kamdyn Curfman

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Greg Parham

#5 Greg Parham

G
6' 4"
Senior
Jake Stephens

#34 Jake Stephens

C
6' 10"
Junior
Trey Bonham

#2 Trey Bonham

G
6' 0"
Freshman
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
Greg Parham

#5 Greg Parham

6' 4"
Senior
G
Jake Stephens

#34 Jake Stephens

6' 10"
Junior
C
Trey Bonham

#2 Trey Bonham

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Honor Huff

#3 Honor Huff

5' 10"
Freshman
G