Johnson leads VMI against Furman after 30-point outing

By Canadian Press on January 10, 2026.

VMI Keydets (6-10, 1-2 SoCon) at Furman Paladins (11-5, 2-1 SoCon)

Greenville, South Carolina; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: VMI visits Furman after TJ Johnson scored 30 points in VMI’s 81-67 loss to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.

The Paladins are 7-2 in home games. Furman ranks second in the SoCon in rebounding averaging 35.9 rebounds. Charles Johnston leads the Paladins with 9.2 boards.

The Keydets have gone 1-2 against SoCon opponents. VMI ranks eighth in the SoCon shooting 32.3% from 3-point range.

Furman makes 47.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.7 percentage points higher than VMI has allowed to its opponents (44.2%). VMI averages 5.3 more points per game (76.2) than Furman gives up to opponents (70.9).

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Johnston is averaging 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Paladins. Alex Wilkins is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

Johnson is shooting 34.2% from beyond the arc with 3.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Keydets, while averaging 19.3 points and 7.5 rebounds. Linus Holmstrom is averaging 10.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Paladins: 8-2, averaging 80.7 points, 34.6 rebounds, 17.7 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.1 points per game.

Keydets: 3-7, averaging 72.4 points, 32.0 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 39.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press