Coming off a tough SoCon loss at the hands of Mercer Thursday night, the VMI Basketball team continues its road swing to face military conference rival The Citadel Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Charleston, S.C. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Keydets will play the final two remaining January games away from Cameron Hall, closing out the month Jan. 31 at UNCG.
Last Time Out: Mercer 88, VMI 68 - January 24, 2019
Junior guard Ross Cummings hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points to lead Mercer past VMI, 88-68, in Southern Conference action Thursday night at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia. The Bears, winners of two straight, used a strong first half to build a lead that the Keydets found difficult to overcome after halftime. VMI was led by junior guard Garrett Gilkeson who scored 15 points and added nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Bubba Parham added 17 points, but labored through a 2-for-11 shooting night from beyond the arc. Mercer shot 56.1% from the floor and was 10-of-19 from 3-point range while dishing out 19 assists led by sophomore guard Marcus Cohen who had seven dishes. The Keydets, hampered by turnovers in the first half, dug themselves a hole that proved insurmountable as Mercer built a 52-31 intermission lead. VMI committed nine turnovers in the opening stanza which led to 19 Bears points.
Last Meeting with The Citadel: The Citadel 78, VMI 70 - March 2, 2018
The Citadel's Zane Najdawi led all scorers with 16 points as the Bulldogs erased an early first-half deficit and downed VMI 78-70 in the first round of the 2018 Southern Conference Basketball Championship. VMI jumped out to an early lead and held a 29-19 advantage with 5:29 remaining in the first half. From there, the Bulldogs used a 23-7 run that spanned the end of the first half and into the second frame to take the lead for good. The Keydets pulled to game to within three (73-30) with 2:45 to play but would not score the remainder of the game as The Citadel knocked down five free throws to secure the win. Keith Smith paced the Keydets with 15 points.
A win over The Citadel would ...
--Give VMI its third win in the last four meetings vs. The Citadel
--Second road win of the year
Series History – VMI vs. The Citadel
This will be the 111th meeting between the teams that first met in 1921. The Citadel leads the series 57-53, but the Keydets swept the regular season series last year including wins 88-81 (Lexington, Va.) and 75-71 (Charleston, S.C.) last year. The Citadel
prevailed 78-70 in the first round of the SoCon Tournament in Asheville, N.C. on March 2, 2018.
Creammer Returns to Action
VMI's bench got a boost when junior center Tyler Creammer returned to action Jan. 24 at Mercer after missing the previous two games following a second-half ankle injury against Wofford January 12. Creammer played nine minutes against Mercer and scored
three points and grabbed one rebound.
Hot Shooting Leads Keydets vs. WCU
VMI turned in its best shooting performance of the year hitting 32 of 57 shots for a season- high 56.1% in the 91-83 win over Western Carolina January 19. The Keydets also dished out 18 assists – the second highest vs. a DI opponent this year.
