COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Wofford men's basketball team concluded its non-conference slate with a 70-52 loss against Texas A&M at Reed Arena on Monday afternoon, as the Aggies used a dominant paint presence and took advantage of Wofford's foul trouble in the second half to drop the Terriers to 3-3 overall on the season.
 
"It was a tale of two halves. At the start of the game, we were really connected and banging shots and had a good, simple attack to what we wanted to do," said head coach Jay McAuley. "Obviously they wore on us and [we] made some silly mistakes trying to hit home runs when, as soon as we were simple, we were getting good looks."

"We made enough threes and made enough shots to win the game. It was defensively, we allowed some frustration from missed shots and missed free throws to impact the other end and that can't happen. As a young group, we have to continue to learn that."
 
The Terriers were plagued with second-half shooting woes, as Wofford finished the contest shooting 40 percent from the floor (18-45) and 35.3 percent from 3-point range (12-34). A key struggle for Wofford throughout the day was its performance from the free throw line, connecting on just 4-of-19 attempts on the afternoon (21.1%).
 
Freshman Max Klesmit led the Terriers with a team-high 14 points in his season debut for Wofford. The Neenah, Wisc. native connected on 4-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc (44.4%) to lead the team in scoring on the day. Senior Tray Hollowell followed with seven points, three rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes of action.
 
A quartet of Terriers – Storm Murphy, Ryan Larson, Messiah Jones and Sam Godwin – finished with six points each, while freshmen Morgan Safford and Keaton Turner round out the scoring with three points apiece.
 
Wofford blitzed the Aggies to start, opening the contest 5-for-5 from beyond the arc to build a 15-3 lead within the first four minutes. Murphy and Hollowell would open with back-to-back threes, as Larson and Safford joined in on the action prior to Hollowell capping the run with his second trey of the half by the 16:39 mark. The Terriers used four Texas A&M turnovers, highlighted by charges from Larson and Klesmit, to build momentum on the offensive end during the run.
 
Texas A&M then came alive in using a 12-0 run that held Wofford scoreless for eight minutes to deadlock the score at 15-15 with 7:57 left in the half. Murphy broke the silence with a corner three, as a Sam Godwin finish on a savvy find from Larson and pair of Godwin free throws reclaimed a 22-19 Wofford lead at the under-4 media timeout (3:56). The Aggies would turn defense into offense, using a turnover to produce a Kevin Marfo dunk that gave Texas A&M its first lead of the day, 23-22, though, Larson came back down to dime Max Klesmit for his first career three to swing the margin back in Wofford's favor (25-23).
 
Larson knocked down another three to push the lead to four (28-24), however, an Aggies layup followed by a Wofford turnover led to a buzzer-beating three that gave Texas A&M the halftime lead, 29-28.
 
The Terriers hit 8-of-16 threes in the first half (50%) and led for 18:44 prior to the  final seconds leading into the intermission.
 
Texas A&M came out the break with the momentum, extending a 41-33 lead before a Klesmit trey would reel the margin within five, 41-36, four minutes in. Balanced scoring from the Aggies then allowed for a 14-5 run over a four-minute span that brought the lead to double-digits, 55-41, by the 8:10 mark.
 
A Messiah Jones finish and another Klesmit 3-pointer brought the margin back within nine (55-46), however, the Aggies would capitalize inside the paint to piece together a 12-0 run, hitting 6-of-7 from the line during the span, to see its largest lead of the game at 67-46 with 4:06 to play. A Klesmit finish at the rim would ensue before freshman Keaton Turner registered his first career points on a 3-point feed from Ryan Larson, who dished a season and game-high eight assists, though, the Aggies went on to control and close the game out with the 70-52 margin at the buzzer.
 
The Aggies shot 52.6 percent from the floor (10-19) and connected on 20-of-28 trips to the line (71.4%) in the second half to pull away, while holding Wofford to 37.5 percent from the field (9-24) and 22.2 percent from beyond the arc (4-18). Texas A&M additionally outrebounded the Terriers for the contest, 34-30.
 
Despite the loss, the Terriers made at least 10 threes for the fourth consecutive contest, while racking up 16 assists to mark the fourth game this year that Wofford has dished 15-plus assists as a team.
 
Wofford (3-3) shifts its focus to Southern Conference play, as the Terriers return to action on Tuesday, December 29, traveling to Macon, Ga. for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Mercer.