VMI Basketball opens up a stretch of four road games over the next five contests when it travels to Johnson City, Tennessee Thursday night to take on the ETSU Bucs at Freedom Hall. The Keydets will be looking to snap a four game skid while ETSU will try to extend its seven-game winning streak. It will be the first of two conference meetings between the schools who will also play Feb. 21 in Lexington. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Last Time Out: Wofford 90, VMI 76 - Saturday, Jan. 12
The VMI basketball team gave league-leading Wofford College all it could handle Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as the visiting Terriers defeated the Keydets 90-76 in Southern Conference play. VMI opened the game on a tear, hitting its first six shots en route to opening a 17-6 lead in the first five minutes. Keydet freshman center Jake Stephens earned his first start of the season and responded with two three-pointers and a layup in that span for eight early points. The Terriers chipped away at the deficit and went into halftime ahead 40-38. The Keydets trailed by just three (61-58) at the 11:27 mark after a basket by Greg Parham, but a 20-2 run over the next seven minutes allowed Wofford to open a 81-60 lead and put the contest out of reach. Garrett Gilkeson paced VMI with team-highs of 17 points and seven rebounds, and also added three assists and two steals. Stephens finished with 11 points and five rebounds, his third double-digit scoring game in conference action. Nathan Hoover posted a game-high 25 points and Cameron Jackson had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Last Meeting with the Bucs: ETSU 70, VMI 56 - Feb. 10, 2018
Facing league leader ETSU at home, the VMI basketball team played a strong first half but faltered in the second as the visiting Bucs left Cameron Hall with a 70-56 victory February 10, 2018 in Lexington. The Keydets played a great first half in which they converted 14 shots and shot 42 percent from the field to go into the half trailing by just one point, 34-33. VMI stuck around early in the second half but went cold midway through, hitting a 6-minute patch in which the Keydets missed eight consecutive shots while ETSU extended its lead to 53-43 with nine minutes to play. VMI also played without the services of one of its key players in sophomore guard Keith Smith, who sat out with the flu. VMI was led by sophomore guard Garrett Gilkeson, who went 5-11 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Freshman Jordan Ratliffe made five buckets including two treys to follow up with 12 points. The Bucs were led by Jalan McCloud's 20 points as he went 7-13 from the field including two treys and 4-4 from the free-throw line.
A win over ETSU would ...
-- Be VMI's first win in Johnson City since January 2, 1999.
-- Give VMI its first win in January this season.
Series History – VMI vs. ETSU
This will be the 62nd meeting between the teams that fi rst met in 1953. ETSU leads the series, 47-14, and has taken the last six meetings including wins 89-48 (Johnson City, Tenn.) and 70-56 (Lexington, Va.) last year. VMI last defeated the Bucs, 85-79, on January 17, 2015 in Lexington.
Stephens Steps Up
In his fi rst college start, freshman forward Jake Stephens scored 11 points Saturday against Wofford for his third double fi gures scoring game over the last four contests. Stephens earlier tied a career-high with nine rebounds Jan. 10 against Furman, matching his output of nine rebounds against Goucher Nov. 11. Stephens just missed his fi rst career double-double by one rebounds after scoring a team-high 15 points against the Paladins. Stephens is averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over his last four conference games.
Bubba Still on Top
Sophomore guard Bubba Parham continues to lead the SoCon in scoring with a 20.2 PPG average. Earlier in the season, Parham entered December with four straight 30+ point games, and became the first SoCon player to tally 30 or more points in four straight contests since Steph Curry of Davidson in 2008-09. Not just a scorer, Parham also garnered a career-high nine rebounds with a 30-point outing in VMI's win 87-79 OT win at Stetson. Parham started his blistering four-game scoring stretch when he scored a career-high 35 points and knocked down a school record 10 3-pointers in the 92-82 loss at #10 ranked Kentucky Nov. 18. It was the first time Parham had surpassed the 30+ point plateau in a game in his career and he followed it up two nights later with 33 points against Kentucky Christian at Cameron Hall. Parham, the 2018 SoCon Freshman of the Year as selected by the media, has 15 games of 20+ points in his career following his 29-point outing vs. North Alabama Dec. 21 and 24 points at Samford on December 29.
