Parham, Vereen lead hot-shooting VMI to 1st SoCon win 88-81

Jan 20, 2018, 08:42 pm

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Bubba Parham scored 24 points, Austin Vereen added 18 as VMI led the entire way to defeat The Citadel 88-81 on Saturday, halting a seven-game losing streak and claiming its first Southern Conference victory this season.

Vereen opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers as the Keydets shot 50 percent, never trailed and led by as many as 19 before halftime.

VMI made 31 of 62 shots, including 14 of 31 from behind the 3-point arc. Parham made four treys and Vereen three. Garrett Gilkeson scored 12 points for the Keydets (6-12, 1-6), Jordan Ratliffe 10 and Keith Smith made seven assists.

Quayson Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers as The Citadel clawed to four points down, 83-79, with 1:06 remaining. On their first possession after a timeout, the Bulldogs missed twice from behind the arc and then lost the ball on a turnover.

Meanwhile, Vereen dunked to put an exclamation point on the win.

Zane Najdawi led The Citadel (6-13, 1-6) with 27 points and 11 rebounds, Williams scored 13 and Matt Frierson 16.