LEXINGTON, Va. – Redshirt senior Mason Faulkner had a team-best 15 points, but VMI shot a blistering 61.3 percent from the field in the second half as the Keydets earned an 87-61 win over Western Carolina at Cameron Hall on Wednesday.
 
VMI improves to 9-8 overall and 4-4 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina drops to 7-8 and 0-6.
 
Faulkner's 15-point effort is his 10^th double-digit scoring game this season. The Glasgow, Ky. native was 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 behind the 3-point line. Junior Cory Hightower tallied nine points while freshman Tyler McGhie scored a career-best eight. Faulkner and Tyler Harris both pulled down six rebounds.
 
Two-time reigning SoCon Player of the Week Greg Parham led VMI with 23 points. Sean Conway (14), Jake Stephens (12), Myles Lewis (10), and Kamdyn Curfman (10) also finished in double figures.
 
The opening five minutes of the game featured two ties and three lead changes with neither team leading by more than two points. After a Faulkner 3-pointer gave the Catamounts a 12-10 lead at the 14:11 mark, VMI used an 8-0 run capped by a Curfman jumper to give the Keydets an 18-12 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the half. The Catamounts used a 13-3 run to grab a 25-21 advantage with a Cork jumper just past the midpoint of the frame. With the contest tied at 28, the Catamounts went on a 7-0 run for a 35-28 lead that prompted a VMI timeout with 4:32 to go. The Keydets outscored WCU 11-2 down the stretch and lead 39-37 at halftime.
 
WCU tallied five of the first seven points of the second half as two Faulkner free throws tied the game at 41. The Keydets went on a 13-0 run, with nine points coming on 3-pointers, to take a 54-41 lead with 15:18 remaining. After VMI pushed its lead to 17 points, McGhie drained a 3-pointer to bring the Catamounts to make the score 60-47 at the 13:16 mark but WCU would get no closer the rest of the way.
 
VMI finished 31-for-62 (50 percent) from the field and 13-for-27 (48 percent) behind the arc. WCU shot 34 percent from the field (22-for-65) and 7-for-24 (29 percent) in 3-point attempts. The Catamounts outrebounded VMI 41-38.
 
The Catamounts return to the Ramsey Center on Saturday, hosting Furman at 1 p.m. in the "Ingles SoCon Game of the Week" which will air on select Nexstar affiliates across a six-state footprint. The game, originally scheduled for Feb. 15, was announced earlier Wednesday as part of a seven-game rescheduling effort by the SoCon.
 
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