Stephens, Curfman key VMI to 89-82 win at Seattle to conclude 2-0 West Coast swing

With a combined 45 points between senior Jake Stephens and junior Kamdyn Curfman, VMI completed a successful 2-0 trip to the West coast by defeating Seattle, 89-82, Sunday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

Stephens finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Curfman poured in 22 points, including four treys, to help VMI build a 19-point lead in the second half and eventually hold on for the road victory.

VMI (6-4, 0-0) started the contest slow and faced a nine-point deficit midway through the opening half but turned it around to gain a 39-35 advantage at the break. The Keydets kept the momentum in the second half and gradually earned a 19-point lead with 8:08 to play in regulation. The Redhawks kept the game interesting in the final minutes to cut the deficit to single digits but the VMI advantage proved insurmountable. The Keydets also finished the contest going 23-of-27 from the charity stripe to help close out the game.

Three other Keydets scored in double figures including 12 points from Sean Conway and Honor Huff in addition to 10 points from guard Trey Bonham, who returned to the starting lineup after sitting out two games to injury in New Orleans.

Seattle’s Riley Grigsby led the Redhawks with 21 points during the game while Cameron Tyson contributed 20. Darrion Trammell also scored in double figures with 18 points.

The Keydets return to action Saturday against Gardner-Webb for the final home contest of the 2021 calendar year. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Cameron Hall.

VMI head coach Dan Earl postgame

“It was a good effort throughout the game. There were times at the end where we didn’t close it out. There are so many things to learn as a group. We had a variety of guys positively impact the game. Jake Stephens had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Kamdyn (Curfman) was his usual self and Honor Huff played a huge role. You always have to be ready when your number is called.”

“Seattle made some shots and we weren’t great closing out the game, but we’ll take a hard fought road win. Going 23-for-27 from the line was phenomenal and that does help close out games. Rebounding has been a group effort for us and our guards are getting involved as well, so to hold them to just 10 offensive rebounds, we’ll take that.”