NEW ORLEANS – Junior guard Kamdyn Curfman poured in 22 points including a career best six 3-pointers to lead VMI past Central Arkansas 73-67 on Thursday afternoon in UNO Classic action at Lakefront Arena.
 
Curfman was 7-of-16 from the floor and hit 6-of-12 from long range for his second 20-point game of the year. Fellow junior Louis Tang also had an excellent outing by finishing with eight points to go with eight rebounds.
 
VMI (3-3) snapped a two-game skid while Central Arkansas dropped to 1-5.
 
The Keydets led by as many as 16 points (33-17) at the 6:28 mark of the first half following a Connor Arnold free throw. But the Bears outscored VMI 15-2 over the remainder of the half and trailed the Keydets 35-32 at the break.
 
The Keydets never surrendered the lead in the second half and led by only a 63-58 count with 5:12 left but answered with 3s from Conway and Curfman to cushion the lead to double-digits.
 
Curfman drained a pair of free throws with 14.8 remaining in regulation to seal the win.
 
VMI also got a double-figure scoring effort from Conway with 10 points while Jake Stephens had eight points, eight rebounds, hit all six free throws and dished out a career-high nine assists.
 
The Keydets juggled their starting lineup for the first time as Arnold and Honor Huff made their first starts of the season. Sophomore guard Trey Bonham did not play.
 
Central Arkansas got double-figure scoring from Cameron Hunter with 23 points while Collin Cooper and Jared Chatman scored 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
VMI held an 11-8 advantage in the offensive glass, which led to a 17-2 differential in second-chance points.
 
The Keydets return to action Friday against host UNO at 2 p.m. ET.
 
VMI Head Coach Dan Earl Postgame Quotes
“It is a good feeling for the guys to get a much-needed win. We did some things well. We limited them to eight offensive rebounds and cut our turnovers down a bit (11). Kamdyn Curfman continued his good play with another very good performance. It was also great to see Louis Tang take a step it the right direction and have a positive impact on the game. Connor Arnold again gave us some very valuable minutes.
 
“While it certainly wasn’t a picture-perfect game, I was proud that we figured out a way to win after some difficult and close losses. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction in continuing to improve.”