2017-18 VMI BASKETBALL 2018 SoCon Basketball Championship Notes Keydets Open SoCon Tournament Against The Citadel #9 VMI (9-20, 4-14) VMI Looking to Down The Bulldogs for the Third Time This Year vs. #8 The Citadel (10-20, 5-13) t VMI basketball opens the SoCon Championship Friday, when the Keydets take on The Citadel Bulldogs in March 2 Asheville, N.C. Action gets underway at 5 p.m., and the game can be seen live and free of charge - with participating 5 p.m. provider - on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. In addition, an audio broadcast will be available in the Lexington area U.S. Cellular Center on 96.7 3WZ, www.streamthe.net (search WWZW) and via the Tune-In app, with associated feed on Asheville, N.C. VMIKeydets.com, and live stats can be accessed as well. RADIO- 96.7 FM Lexington and Last Time Out - vs. Chattanooga (2/25/2018): VMIKeydets.com t With tournament seeding on the line, the VMI basketball team hung on to earn a 68-65 win over visiting INTERNET- Live audio and Chattanooga Sunday afternoon, Feb. 25 on Senior Day at Cameron Hall. stats at VMIKeydets.com VMI finished the game with 28 points in the paint to UTC’s 18 and logged 24 points off turnovers to the Mocs’ TV/VIDEO - Available free of 10. The Keydets also had 15 second-chance points to help secure the victory. Freshman Bubba Parham again led the charge - with participating Keydets with 16 points on the day on 5-11 shooting including two treys and four free throws. Fred Iruafemi turned in 12 points in his final game at Cameron Hall while junior Austin Vereen had 11 points as the third Keydet in dou- provider - via WatchESPN and ble digits. the ESPN app. Tale Of The Tape Last Meeting with The Citadel (2/17/2018): VMI CIT t The VMI basketball team held on to defeat rival The Citadel by a 75-71 score Saturday afternoon, Feb. 17 at McAlister Field House in Charleston, South Carolina. Austin Vereen’s three-pointer in the closing seconds was the 65.0 Points Per Game 83.4 difference. 73.7 Points Allowed 89.2 The Keydets were led by Bubba Parham, who came one point shy of his career high with 25 points on 8-18 shooting from the field and converted eight of 10 free throws. Fellow freshman Myles Lewis also came up big by 39.9% Field Goal % 41.6% scoring 11 points as he went a perfect 5-5 from the field in 14 minutes of play. Jordan Ratliffe also represented the 44.5% FG % Allowed 48.5% freshman class well by scoring nine points. 7.4 3-Pt. FG Per Game 12.0 A VMI win against The Citadel would: 74.4% Free Throw % 71.0% t Be VMI’s first postseason win since returning to the SoCon prior to the 14-15 season. 11.9 Assists Per Game 16.6 t Be the second time in four years that the Keydets had swept three games from The Citadel in the same year. 14.7 Turnovers Per Game 15.1 t Advance the Keydets to Saturday’s action, where they would face top-seeded UNCG at noon. 7.4 Steals Per Game 9.6 Probable Starters +=Blocks Per Game Pos. # Player Yr. Ht. Wt. Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Notes G 0 Austin Vereen Jr. 6-4 190 10.7 4.5 1.0 1.1 One of SoCon’s most improved players, went from 1.2 PPG to 10.7 PPG G 1 Keith Smith So. 6-0 170 6.8 2.4 3.3 1.4 Started 28 of the season’s 29 games at point guard. G 2 Garrett Gilkeson So. 6-4 200 5.5 3.8 1.2 1.2 Career-high 17 points, 10 rebounds at UTC 1/27, first career double-double G 23 Bubba Parham Fr. 5-11 155 14.9 3.4 2.5 0.8 Voted SoCon Freshman of the Year by league media F 25 Tyler Creammer So. 6-10 245 7.1 5.4 0.7 0.5+ Shared time in the middle with Fred Iruafemi, started 26 of 29 games Off The Bench Pos. # Player Yr. Ht. Wt. Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Notes F 3 Tragen Fahl Fr. 6-8 180 0.7 0.3 0.2+ 0.2 Four points and a block against Southern Wesleyan 12/14 F 4 Fred Iruafemi Sr. 6-6 205 2.5 3.7 1.3+ 0.8 Fifth in school history in blocked shots (113) G 5 Greg Parham Fr. 6-4 160 2.9 1.1 1.3 0.4 Career-high five assists in just 16 minutes at Furman (2/20) F 10 Armani Branch Sr. 6-6 205 -- -- -- -- Yet to play this season G 11 Jordan Ratliffe Fr. 6-0 188 7.0 2.3 0.7 0.8 Increased scoring average to 8.7 PPG over season’s last seven games G 12 Ta’Vonne Bond Fr. 6-0 163 0.4 0.1 0.4 -- Scored his first three career points 12/14 against Southern Wesleyan F 15 Myles Lewis Fr. 6-5 181 3.4 1.6 0.2 0.2+ Averaged 10 PPG against The Citadel this year, just one other game in double figures F 24 Will Miller So. 6-8 210 2.8 1.6 0.4 0.4 Career-high 12 points in 11/18 win over Presbyterian G 31 Sarju Patel Fr. 6-3 170 2.8 1.2 0.5 0.1 Nine points in 2/20 loss at Furman, hit three three-pointers Media Schedule/Results (9-20, 4-14 SoCon) Information Date Opponent (Television) Time/Result Record Key Stats Nov. 10 at N.C. State L, 67-102 0-1 B. Parham scores 22 points in loss VMI Basketball Nov. 14 at Duquesne L, 61-77 0-2 24 turnovers cost Keydets in loss Contacts Nov. 18 Presbyterian W, 78-58 1-2 Vereen, Creammer and Miller all score career-highs in W Nov. 21 Ohio Valley University W, 81-66 2-2 B. Parham leads Keydets with 19 Wade Branner, Associate Nov. 25 at American L, 64-69 2-3 Creammer notches first career double-double A.D./Athletic Communications Nov. 28 at Charleston Southern W, 76-68 3-3 Keydets rally by shooting 8 of 14 from 3 in second half (Basketball Contact) Dec. 2 Radford L, 50-63 3-4 Radford scores 42 pts in paint Dec. 5 at Davidson L, 51-74 3-5 Keydets stay close for 30 minutes, DC 30-4 in points off turnovers Office (540) 464-7515 Dec. 9 Longwood W, 81-70 4-5 Keydets have just 5 TO’s, lowest number since ‘14 Cell (540) 319-1271 Dec. 14 Southern Wesleyan W, 90-52 5-5 Every player on VMI roster scores Fax (540) 464-7583 Dec. 22 at VCU L, 65-75 5-6 Late 25-10 VMI run comes too late Email [email protected] Dec. 30 Furman* L, 57-87 5-7, 0-1 29-0 Furman run in first half puts game away Web www.VMIKeydets.com Jan. 4 at Wofford* L, 53-92 5-8, 0-2 Wofford posts 29-2 run to open game Press Row Phone (540) 463-6725 Jan. 6 UNCG* L, 61-63 5-9, 0-3 UNCG hits 2 free throws with under three seconds to go Jan. 13 at ETSU* L, 48-89 5-10, 0-4 Keydets shoot season-low 26% from field in loss Brad Salois, Associate Athletic Jan. 15 at Western Carolina* L, 58-65 5-11, 0-5 Late comeback from down 13 falls just short Communications Director Jan. 18 Mercer* L, 56-62 5-12, 0-6 50-31 rebounding deficit key in loss (Secondary) Jan. 20 The Citadel* W, 88-81 6-12, 1-6 Keydets make season-high 14 3’s, never trail Office (540) 464-7015 Jan. 24 Wofford* L, 46-63 6-13, 1-7 Keydets post lowest point total since ‘08 Cell (940) 642-9865 Jan. 27 at Chattanooga* W, 70-69 7-13, 2-7 Vereen’s lay-in in final seconds the game-winner Jan. 29 at Samford* L, 79-93 7-14, 2-8 Samford uses 10-0 second half run to break open close game Email [email protected] Feb. 1 at UNCG* L, 51-73 7-15, 2-9 UNCG opens with 32-12 run Feb. 8 Western Carolina* L, 60-72 7-16, 2-10 35 WCU bench points fuels comeback Daniel Whitehead, Assistant Athletic Feb. 10 ETSU* L, 56-70 7-17, 2-11 Keydets outrebounded 48-27 in loss Communications Director Feb. 15 at Mercer* L, 58-82 7-18, 2-12 Mercer starts game with 32-12 run Office (540) 464-7514 Feb. 17 at The Citadel* W, 75-71 8-18, 3-12 Keydets stave off late comeback with clutch Vereen 3 Email [email protected] Feb. 20 at Furman* L, 54-76 8-19, 3-13 17-0 FUR run in first half the difference Feb. 23 Samford* L, 82-89 8-20, 3-14 Samford puts six in double figures VMIKeydets.com Feb. 25 Chattanooga* W, 68-65 9-20, 4-14 Iruafemi 12 pts., nine boards on Senior Day1 The official website of VMI athletics, Southern Conference Tournament Presented by General Shale - Asheville, N.C. VMIKeydets.com, includes pregame Mar. 2 #8 The Citadel 5 p.m.