CULLOWHEE, N.C. – On the heels of a thrilling 87-84 victory over mountain rival ETSU on Wednesday night, the Western Carolina men's basketball team has a quick turnaround, heading to Lexington, Va., for a rare Friday evening matchup against the VMI Keydets. Tip-off at Cameron Hall is scheduled for a 6 p.m.
 
Friday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with Catamount Sports Network coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. streaming online at CatamountSports.com and can be heard locally on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC, The River.
 
In a scheduling oddity, WCU has finished the season series with three schools – The Citadel, Samford, and ETSU – before its first seasonal meetings against its next two opponents; at VMI on Friday and UNCG at home on Monday. After Friday evening's meeting, the Catamounts and Keydets close out the regular season in Cullowhee on Feb. 26. WCU was originally scheduled to face UNCG in its SoCon opener back on Dec. 29, but returns home to entertain the Spartans on Monday night after the initial meeting was postponed.
 
WCU is 9-14 overall and 3-7 in league games after Wednesday's victory over the Buccaneers, which snapped several skids including a five-game seasonal drought, a 14-game series losing streak, and 14-straight home losses to ETSU that dated back to 1998. The Catamounts were led by a pair of graduate transfers as Nicholas Robinson scored a career-best 37 points. Robinson was 13-for-23 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. His performance was the first 30-point scoring effort by a Catamount since Onno Steger went for 31 in a win over Samford in February 2020. Robinson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year while also dishing out a career-best six assists.
 
In addition to Robinson's heroics, grad transfer Cam Bacote also had a career night by finishing with 21 points after he went 5-for-9 from the field and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line. Freshman Marcus Banks was a third Catamount to finish in double figures with 15 points.
 
Winners of two straight and four of its last six, VMI enters Friday's game at 13-10 on the season and 6-5 in the SoCon thanks to a 76-65 road win over UNCG on Wednesday. The Keydets closed the game on a 16-3 run over the final four minutes to secure their fifth road win of the season. Kamdyn Curfman led VMI with 18 points and was joined in double figures by Trey Bonham (17), Jake Stephens (15), and Honor Huff (14).
 
The top-scoring team in the SoCon (79.2 ppg), the Keydets rely heavily on 3-pointers, ranking second in the country in 3-point field goals per game with 12.4 – a mark that ranks second in the league behind Furman (12.5 avg/gm). Stephens has nearly averaged a double-double per game with 18.6 points (2nd in the SoCon) and a league-best 9.0 rebounds. VMI is 7-2 at Cameron Hall this season.
 
The two teams will meet for the 65^th time Friday night with WCU holding a 36-28 edge. Both teams defended their home court last season as the Keydets took an 87-61 victory at Cameron Hall on Jan. 26 before the Catamounts earned a 74-72 win in Cullowhee two weeks later on Feb. 10.
 
The Catamounts face UNCG on Monday on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center in a makeup game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
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