LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior Storm Murphy added yet another clutch game-winner to his resume, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Terriers over the VMI Keydets (6-6, 1-2 SoCon) 80-78 at Cameron Hall on Wednesday night. The win moves Wofford to 7-4 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference.

ICE IN HIS VEINS 🥶🥶🥶 (@Murphy_Storm)#GoTerriers | #ConquerAndPrevail pic.twitter.com/64dJDJjou1

— Wofford Basketball (@WoffordMBB) January 14, 2021

"I thought both teams competed at a high level," said head coach Jay McAuley. "This is a tremendous challenge to prepare for a team like this, especially with four or five newcomers that have never faced them. It's a system of back cuts … guarding long possessions that we handled well in certain spots and we didn't in others, and they made us pay. We took some huge heavyweight blows throughout the game and our guys just kept responding and certainly made enough plays down the stretch to get out of here."
 
Five Terriers finished in double figures on the night, as Murphy led the way for the Terriers with 23 points, hitting 5-of-10 (50%) from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the line, four assists and three rebounds. Notching his fourth 20-point contest of the season, Murphy has been on fire from long distance over the past four games, having hit 19 threes, as the Middleton, Wisc. native had hit 42 percent of his shots from deep range on the season (29-for-69) heading into the contest.
 
"As soon as we got that rebound, I tried to catch it on the run and just put some pressure moving down the court fast," said Murphy of the game-winning possession. "Late game, that's just something I've learned. You know, we just want to get the defense scrambling and panicking a little bit trying to match up so they can't double or anything like that."
 
"I drove right on No. 5 [Greg Parham] and he backed up … shout out my dad, a move I work on all the time with him, and just made it," added Murphy of the play. "Lucky to make it. We'll be better for sure, but hey we're 4-1 [in the SoCon]."
 
Classmate Tray Hollowell found his touch from beyond the arc with 15 points, tying a career-high for made threes in a game on a perfect 5-for-5 outing from 3-point range. Hollowell also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds and dished three assists in a team-high 36 minutes.
 
"The way he defends, the way he leads and talks. It's just incredible. Tray's been awesome and to see him get rewarded by just not missing from the field tonight was pretty awesome," Murphy said of Hollowell's performance. "I love the career-high in rebounds and when Tray can get out and push and make plays, we're really dangerous with him."
 
Junior Ryan Larson matched a career-high with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a season-high three 3-pointers, five rebounds and three assists. Freshmen Morgan Safford and Sam Godwin each finished with 10 points, as Safford matched a season-high seven rebounds while Godwin pulled down three on the night.
 
The game started off as a back and forth affair, seeing both teams knotted up at 15-15 by the 11:48 mark. Coming out the under-12 media timeout, Wofford would capitalize on its defensive energy to explode for a 13-0 run and bust out its largest lead of the half at 28-16.
 
Back-to-back threes from Ryan Larson and Storm Murphy ignited the scoring surge, as a Morgan Safford jumper and trey from Tray Hollowell capped the run prior to a B.J. Mack post finish with 8:19 left in the half.
 
A Safford finish at the rim extended another 12-point spread, 30-18, though, VMI's Greg Parham, who tallied 19 first-half points for the Keydets, went on his own 8-0 run to bring the Keydets back within two, 30-28 (5:34). Wofford would score 14 of the next 24 points, as back-to-back threes for Hollowell and Larson followed to extend a seven-point margin before Murphy and Hollowell, with his third three of the half, connected from long distance to go on and push the 46-40 lead at the intermission.
 
Wofford connected on 60 percent of its shots, hitting 8-of-17 from long distance (47.1%), while receiving 18 points off 10 VMI turnovers in the half. Paced by Parham's 19, the Keydets were 8-for-13 from beyond the arc (61.5%) to hang in the contest through the opening 20 minutes.
 
Murphy would extend a seven-point lead on a three to start the second half, though, the Keydets rallied back with an 8-0 run to take the lead, 50-49. The second half saw 12 lead changes in the frame, as a Hollowell three and Safford layup gave Wofford a 62-60 edge with 10:50 to play.
 
A Trey Bonham 3-pointer then reclaimed the lead for the Keydets before a 6-0 run on scores from Safford, Murphy and Sam Godwin gave Wofford the edge again, 68-65 (6:27). Knotted up at 72-72 with 3:16 left, Murphy drilled another 3-pointer, followed by a Hollowell steal for a Sam Godwin fast break layup, to take a five-point advantage, though, VMI's Greg Parham deadlocked the score again prior to a VMI free throw holding a 78-77 advantage with 33 seconds left.
 
The Keydets had a chance to extend their lead, however, a 3-point look fell off the mark, as Sam Godwin grabbed the board to hit Murphy on the outlet for the go-ahead opportunity. Murphy attacked downhill, sizing up Parham before squaring up to knock down the big go-ahead bucket from the right wing with 1.3 seconds left to put the Terriers ahead. VMI inbounded for a last-second half-court heave but would come up short, as Wofford came away with the 80-78 win at the buzzer.
 
Wofford finished the contest shooting 52.6 percent from the field (30-for-57) and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc (14-of-26).
 
The Terriers held VMI to just 13-of-33 shots from the floor in the second half (39.4%), as the Keydets finished 47.4 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from 3-point range. The Keydets were led by Greg Parham with 29 points, followed by Trey Bonham (20) and Jake Stephens (13).
 
Both teams finished with 32 rebounds on the night, though, Wofford forced 12 VMI turnovers in return for 22 points for the contest, while also outscoring the Keydets inside the paint, 28-26. Additionally, Wofford's bench contributed with nine points compared to VMI's two from its reserves.
 
Next, Wofford travels to Chattanooga, Tenn. on Saturday, Jan. 16 for a 2 p.m. matchup against the Chattanooga Mocs (11-3, 2-3 SoCon), who defeated Mercer tonight, 83-80, in SoCon action.