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Men's Basketball

Keydets continue south to face Furman Saturday

LEXINGTON, Va. – After a hard-fought loss to ETSU Wednesday night, the VMI basketball team stayed on the road to head south to Greenville, South Carolina, where the Keydets will take on SoCon rival Furman Saturday afternoon.
 
Tip-off is set for a 2 p.m. start at Timmons Arena.
 
Broadcast Information
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
A Look Back: ETSU 81, VMI 67 – Wednesday, January 7
The VMI basketball team made its first Southern Conference road trip of the season to Johnson City, Tennessee, but came up short as the host Bucs earned an 81-67 league victory over the Keydets Wednesday night at Freedom Hall.
 
VMI junior TJ Johnson spurred a comeback effort by scoring 21 points in the second half en route to a game-high 30 points, his third highest scoring output of the season and just two points shy of his career best 32 attained earlier this season at Southern Indiana. He hit the mark by matching his career-best six three-pointers made during the contest. Johnson also came up just one rebound shy of registering his third double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
 
About the Paladins (11-5, 2-1)
Furman is off to a solid start in league play after taking down Mercer on New Year's Eve before falling to Western Carolina in OT last Saturday. The Paladins are coming off a 78-67 win over Chattanooga Wednesday night entering Saturday's game with VMI. Other notable victories for the Paladins this season include wins over Queens, Richmond and Elon. The Paladins are presently tied for third in the league standings with a 2-1 conference record.
 
Four Paladins are averaging double figures in scoring led by Alex Wilkins' 16.9 points per game. Asa Thomas is second with 13.7 ppg while Cooper Bowser (13.4) and Charles Johnston (10.8) also fit the category.  Bowser ranks among the conference leaders in rebounds at 10.0 per game while Wilkins directs the offense with 82 assists on the year.

A win over Furman would …
-Be VMI's second win over the Paladins in the last three attempts and 39th overall win in the series
-Be VMI's first win in Greenville since January 10, 2015, VMI's first season back in the SoCon
-Bring VMI to an even 2-2 record in SoCon play

All-Time Series (38-72)
Longtime foes as members of the Southern Conference, the Keydets look to pick up their second win over the Paladins in the past three meetings and 39th overall when the teams meet Saturday. Last year, VMI defeated the Paladins in Lexington, 91-82, to break a five-game losing streak to Furman.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

TJ Johnson

#44 TJ Johnson

F
6' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

TJ Johnson

#44 TJ Johnson

6' 7"
Junior
F