LEXINGTON, Va. -- Bubba Parham scored 33 points, Sarju Patel added 17 and VMI beat Western Carolina 91-83 on Saturday for its first Southern Conference win while ending a five-game losing streak.

Parham finished two points off his career he set against Kentucky on Nov. 18. Parham's 3-pointer with 5:45 left gave VMI (7-12, 1-6) a 73-72 lead. Kameron Gibson countered with a 3 before the Keydets' Jake Stephens buried one, Myles Lewis added a dunk and VMI led the rest of the way. Stephens finished with 16 points and Lewis 13.

VMI shot 32 of 57 (56 percent) from the field including 11 of 25 from beyond the 3-point arc despite missing 10 free throws.

Onno Steger led the Catamounts (5-16, 2-5), who shot 56 percent, with 27 points. Matt Halvorsen and Gibson added 20 apiece.