The 2021-22 VMI season came to an end Sunday as the Keydets fell to UNC Wilmington by a 93-78 score in the opening round of the Roman Collegiate Basketball Invitational.
The Keydets (16-16) trailed by just two at the half, 39-37, but the Seahawks (24-9) pulled away in the second half to outscore the Keydets, 54-41, to secure the win and advance to the second round.
UNCW employed a suffocating defense to the Keydet offense and forced a season-high 18 turnovers for VMI, surpassing 16 turnovers from three previous games this year.
The Keydets were led by sophomore Trey Bonham’s 26 points, his fifth 20-point game of the season. He finishes the season with double figures scoring in 19 of last 20 games of the year. Still battling injury, VMI senior center Jake Stephens scored 23 points, his 17th 20-point game of the year.
The matchup featured four ties and eight lead changes as the team were knotted up at 51-51 with just under 14 minutes to play. The Seahawks then went on a 21-9 run over the next five minutes to break the game open as they hit four treys during the stretch. UNCW also proved dominant in the paint, outscoring VMI, 40-18, and took advantage of VMI’s turnovers with 21 points in transition. UNCW turned to its bench for additional support as they outscored VMI, 16-0, throughout the game.
Four Seahawks finished the game in double figures led by Mike Okauru’s 27 points on 8-16 shooting, including four three-pointers. Jaylen Sims also had a strong performance by scoring 18 points and hit eight of nine free throw attempts. James Baker contributed 13 points and Shykeim Phillips finished with 10.
Junior Kamdyn Curfman also finished in double figures for VMI with 18 points on the afternoon, including 6-of-10 from the field and four treys. Sean Conway finished with eight points.
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