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| VMI sophomore guard AJ Clark (photo courtesy of VMI athletics) |
LEXINGTON, VA. --It's rare to see it snow at the beach. It's also rare over the better part of the past decade to see Furman's men's basketball team lose three out of four games, however, in 2025 that's where we are, as both have occurred in a short span. In the process, VMI snapped a five-game losing streak against Furman, as the Keydets got a 91-82 Southern Conference win over the Paladins before a crowd of over 1,500 on-hand Wednesday evening at Cameron Hall.
The Keydets were buoyed by the effort of 6-8 forward Augistinas Kiudulas, who scored nine of VMI's first 11 points as part of a 22-point night to lead five Keydets in double figures, as VMI shot a season-high 51.8% (29-of-56) against an NCAA Division I foe to capture its first win over a Paladin team in three years.
It marks the first three-game winning streak in league play for VMI since winning four games in a row during the 2021-22 season, knocking off East Tennessee State (W, 83-79), UNC Greensboro (W, 76-65), Western Carolina (W, 76-69) and Mercer (W, 85-79) in succession from Jan. 29-Feb. 10 of that particular season.
With the win, the Keydets improved to 9-11 overall and 3-4 in Southern Conference play. The Paladins have now dropped three of their last four games, falling to 15-5 overall and 3-4 in league action.
It was almost like Furman shored up the areas that cost it the game against Chattanooga, making 14-of-18 foul shots and posted a 46-29 advantage on the boards, including bringing down 20 offensive rebounds, which led to a substantial 20-3 edge in second-chance points.
The Paladins came into the game off a contest, which saw them surrender a 17-3 edge in second-chance points and also missed 11 free throws in allowing Chattanooga to overcome as 16-point deficit in the first half, including a 13-point margin early in the second half, to garner a 75-71 win over the Paladins at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
While VMI nearly matched Chattanooga's stellar free throw shooting in identical fashion, connecting on 24-of-27 attempts from the charity stripe, which was only one off in each category of the Mocs' 25-for-28 performance on Saturday in Greenville, the Keydets chose a bit of a different rout to get the job done on Wednesday evening and notch a third-straight SoCon win.
The Keydets were able to capitalize on Furman's 11 turnovers and turned them into an 18-12 advantage in points from turnovers. VMI took good care of the basketball, turning the ball over just seven times all night.
To its credit, as much as Furman struggled and didn't do things necessary or deserving of victory, credit has to go to VMI and head coach Andrew Wilson for how he's turned the Keydets not only into a competitor in the SoCon in 2024-25, but the roster overhaul and introduction of transfers from the portal, most specifically with an international flair and maturity beyond their class rank, has the Keydets collective sights on even more than just being competitive in league play on a nightly basis.
Another alarming similarity, however, to the loss to the Mocs on Saturday was Furman's inability to defend the paint, particularly over the final 10 minutes when VMI conducted almost a live layup drill in the Paladin paint, with little if any obstruction to the hoop. Any obstruction was usually a foul, putting VMI at the line, whereas mentioned above, they were completely equipped and comfortable being the entire night.
The Keydets dominated the paint, outscoring the Paladins 40-20 inside the painted area, while defending them well all over the court for a majority of the night, as VMI held the Paladins to just 37.4% (26-of-70) from the field, while Furman did manage to connect on a solid 36.4% (16-of-44) of its three-point attempts.
Furman's poor defensive effort was noticeable in the opening half and even worse in the second, as the Paladins allowed VMI to connect on a sizzling 56.8% in the latter 20 minutes after allowing the Keydets to connect on 48.4% in the opening half of play.
All told, in each of the past two games, the Paladins have been outscored 74-42 in the paint alone, and the Mocs and Keydets combined to go 49-of-55 from the charity stripe, while Furman has connected on 31-of-56 from the line. Those are two margins that no matter how well you excel in the others, which hence the 36.4% shooting effort from beyond the arc for Furman, is rare to see them lose a game when connecting on 10 or more at 35% or better.
Making the stat line even more bizarre in this game for the Paladins was the fact that after Garrett Hien's layup to open the scoring on the night for the Paladins, the next 34 points of the opening half would come from non-starters, meaning the Paladins posted 34 of its 36 first-half points from the bench, as well as 34 of its total 47 bench points for the game in the opening half of play.
Bench scoring was another of the few bright spots in the contest for the Paladins, as Furman owned the category by a 47-21 margin. The Paladins also held a 20-12 advantage in total assists and took 14 more shots (70-56) than VMI.
Kiudulas finished off his sixth 20-point game of the season by connecting on 5-of-12 shots from the field and was 2-for-3 from long range, while highlighting the stellar performance at the free throw line by connecting on 10-of-11 shots from the charity stripe. Additionally, the talented sophomore transfer from Indiana State added six rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal to his overall well-rounded performance.
Kiudulas was joined in double figures by reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week Rickey Bradley, who added 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal to highlight another strong evening. The junior guard, who returned to Lexington this season after a year hiatus at Georgia State, connected on 6-of-10 from the field, which included a 1-of-2 effort from three-point land and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
TJ Johnson added 12 points on some timely shooting from the perimeter, giving the Keydets all the momentum going into the half with a buzzer-beating triple to stake the Keydets to a seven-point, 43-36, halftime edge. All told, he connected on 4-of-12 shots from long range in the contest to account for his scoring total, while also adding three rebounds.
The Keydets would also get 11 points from freshman guard Tan Yildizoglu, while Swedish national team guard and true freshman guard Linus Holmstrom added 10 points off the bench for VMI.
AJ Clark, who was the lone Keydets player to score in this season's game against Furman as a holdover from the team that dropped a 75-62 contest in Greenville last season, added 10 points to go with last season's game against the Paladins in Greenville, added six points, three rebounds and three blocks. His block of an early Cooper Bowser dunk attempt helped set the tone for the night for the Keydets defensively.
Clark's steal and dunk at the 15:39 mark of the second half of another Furman live-ball turnover--another area that must be cleaned up for head coach Bob Richey's Paladins--helped give the Keydets their first double-digit lead of the game, and it would be one that VMI would manage for most of the second half.
Furman would be led by three players in double figures, with both Charles Johnston and PJay Smith Jr. leading the way with 18 points, while Ben VanderWal added 15 points and 12 rebounds, accounting for the near identical stat line he recorded in Furman's 13-point win over VMI last February, finishing that contest with 15 points and 13 boards. Johnston also added a double-double, with 11 boards to go with his 18 points. It was both VanderWal and Johnston's first double-doubles of the season.
Johnston scored 12 of his 18 points in the opening half of play, finishing the contest by connecting on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including 5-for-10 from three-point land was 1-for-2 at the line. The Cal State Monterey Bay transfer and native of Sydney, Australia added four of the team's 20 assists and also added a steal.
Like Johnston, VanderWal also posted 12 of his points in the opening half, finishing the contest by connecting on 5-of-9 shots from the field and was a solid 5-for-6 from the stripe. VanderWal also added three assists.
After failing to score in the opening half, Smith, a senior point guard from LaVergne, TN, posted all 18 of his points in the second half, with many of those coming late, as the Paladins tried to mount a rally. Smith connected on 6-of-13 shots from the field and was 6-for-11 from long range. He added four rebounds and four assists to Furman's cause.
How It Happened:
Augustinas Kiudulas got VMI off to a fast start, as the Keydets were crisp early and looking like a team that had won consecutive games, as the native of Vilnius, Lithuania scored nine of VMI's first 11 points to get the Keydets out to an early 11-7 lead.
After a Tom House three cut the Keydets lead to one with just under 14 minutes remaining in the half, TJ Johnson hit back with a three to five VMI a 14-10 lead. Furman responded with a nice drive down the lane and layup from Ben VanderWal to get back within two before Linus Holmstrom's layup off the left window extended the VMI lead back to four, at 16-12.
After Charles Johnston missed a wide-open three against the Keydets zone, VanderWal was Johnny on the Spot once again with the offensive rebound and putback to make it a 16-14 VMI lead as the two teams headed to the second media timeout. VanderWal would be fouled just before the second media timeout on a drive to the rack, and he would go to the line to tie the game, 16-16 with 11:33 remaining.
The Keydets eventually pushed their lead back to six, at 23-17 before Davis Molnar converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way to slice VMI's lead to 23-20 by the third media timeout of the half with 7:50 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.
Tan Yildizoglu would convert a layup out of the media timeout for VMI before Furman true freshman sharp-shooter found room for a three-pointer, getting the Paladins to within a deuce with seven minutes left in the half. Following Rickey Bradley's three, which gave VMI a five-point lead, at 28-23, however, Johnston connected on back-to-back threes to give Furman its first lead of the night, at 29-28, with 4:59 remaining in the opening half.
Furman's one-point lead would be short-lived, as Holmstrom's triple put the Keydets ahead 31-29, and that's how it would remain as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the final media timeout of the opening frame.
Kiudulas was fouled on a rebound going into the timeout, and he would go to the line for 1-and-1 out of the timeout, making both shots to extend VMI's lead back to four, at 33-29, but a pair of VanderWal free throws after he was fouled on an offensive rebound of a Mason Smith missed three with 3:07 left got the Paladins back to within two with 3:07 left in the half.
After another Johnston three gave Furman its second lead of the game, at 36-35, the Keydets ended the half on a flurry, getting an 8-0 run to close over the final 90 seconds, as Yildizogolu converted a layup in the paint and then back-to-back threes following missed threes from Furman gave the Keydets a 43-36 halftime lead. The seven-point lead for the Keydets was their largest of the opening half.
Thirty-four of Furman's 36 first half points were bench points, as PJay Smith Jr., Eddrin Bronson, Nick Anderson and Cooper Bowser did not score in the opening 20 minutes, however, the Paladins got 12 points from Ben VanderWal and Charles Johnston in the opening half of play.
Furman shot just 31.6% (12-of-38) and 27.3% (6-of-22) from three-point land in the opening half, however, the Paladins stayed in the game with a 13-2 edge in second chance points, as Furman had 12 offensive rebounds in the opening frame. As a result, the Paladins were ahead 26-15 advantage on the backboards at the half.
VMI connected on 48.4% (15-of-31) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, which included 42.9% (6-of-14) from three-point range. Kiudulas had a game-high 14 points at the break.
In the second half, the Keydets assumed a double-digit lead immediately on a three-point play the old-fashioned way to give the Keydets a 46-36 lead almost immediately. They would sustain that until the first media and extend it by one at the first media timeout of the second half having increased their lead by four, at 55-44, with 14:30 left.
As close as the game had been in the opening half, however, the Paladins would trail by double digits for a majority of the second. After a Davis Molnar turnover and subsequent dunk off a steal by AJ Clark gave VMI a 53-42 lead, the Paladins were able to trim the deficit to nine twice and eight once before VMI a timely TJ Johnson triple at the 13:07 mark of the second half to push VMI's lead back to 11, at 58-47, and the Keydets would push the lead to as much as 16 on four occasions with the latest of those margins coming with just 2:04 remaining after Bradley connected on his lone three of the game, giving the Keydets the 87-71 lead.
Furman would out-score the Keydets 11-4 the rest of the way, making things somewhat interesting, however, would only close to within double digits with the game already having been decided, as freshman guard Eddrin Bronson connected on a three with 42 seconds left to set the final margin at nine--91-82.
Furman returns to action on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Hawkins Arena to take on suddenly upstart Mercer (10-10, 3-4 SoCon), who overcame a 23-point deficit to hand UNC Greensboro its first loss, downing the Spartans, 79-78, Wednesday evening at First Horizon Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. EST between the Paladins and Bears.
VMI also returns to the hardwood on Saturday, as the Keydets will host those same UNCG Spartans (12-8, 5-2 SoCon) in a 1 p.m. tip-off time set for Cameron Hall.
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