LEXINGTON, Va. – Max Klesmit and B.J. Mack combined for 43 points on Wednesday evening, guiding Wofford to an 83-72 win over VMI (16-13, 9-8 SoCon) inside Cameron Hall after pulling away in the latter portion of the second half with leads as large as 17 points. Senior Ryan Larson added 15 points to cap three Terriers in double figures, as the Terriers move to 17-12 overall and 9-8 in the Southern Conference.  
 
Upon tonight's win, the Terriers sit in a three-way tie for fourth in the SoCon with VMI and UNCG.
 
"They turned it on a little bit late there, but we had a big enough lead I thought to get out of here with a win," said head coach Jay McAuley. "They held them to two threes in the first half. They got nine there [in the second], about five of them came in the last four minutes. Those guys chuck it up and they really can get to the paint and cause you problems, but we did enough to win the game."
 
"We had a goal to get 40-plus [points] in the paint. We had 42, we did that," added McAuley of the squad's execution. "We had a goal of plus 10 on the glass, we needed to do that. We won by 10. We got 31 deflections, we were just active enough, physical enough."
 
Wofford shot 67.9 percent from the field on 19-of-28 shooting over the final 20 minutes to finish the game 56.1 percent (32-of-57) and 36 percent from 3-point range on 9-of-25 shots.
 
The performance hands VMI just its fourth loss inside Cameron Hall this season (9-4).
 
Additionally, the Terriers hit 83.3 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (10-of-12), while winning the rebound battle, 36-26, and amassing a 42-26 differential on points inside the paint.
 
"Need to be a little bit smarter to start the game and end the game. That still is something we've got to get better at," added McAuley. "17 assists, we'll take. We'll clean up a few of those turnovers. Contributions came from everybody. Corey Tripp helped us. Sam Godwin was awesome coming in and then you got B.J., Max and Ryan doing some really good things collectively."
 
Sophomore guard Max Klesmit notched his sixth 20-point game of the season and his career with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. The Terriers move to 11-2 on the season when Klesmit knocks down three or more threes this season.
 
Junior forward B.J. Mack followed with 21 points, his seventh career 20-ball, on 9-of-13 from the field and three 3-pointer (3-of-5). The performance marked Mack's 18^th-straight game in double figures, while also grabbing a game-high seven rebounds and recording three assists and two blocks.
 
Ryan Larson recorded 15 points for his second-highest output this season, including two 3-pointers and three free throws, while dishing a game-high four assists and pulling down three rebounds. The St. Paul, Minn. native additionally was pivotal defensively with three drawn charges throughout the contest.
 
Entering the contest, Wofford ranked 15^th in the nation with 272 threes made, having increased that mark to 281 after Wednesday, as the trio of Klesmit, Mack and Larson connected on all of Wofford's trifectas for the contest.
 
The occurrence marks Wofford's 18^th game this season the Terriers have had three or more players hit at least two treys apiece.
 
Sam Godwin was solid with nine points, including 3-for-3 from the line, five rebounds, two assists and a block in 12 minutes, while Morgan Safford and Isaiah Bigelow added six points each. Safford grabbed six rebounds, as Bigelow followed with five boards. Freshman Corey Tripp rounds out the scoring with four points and an assist in 11 minutes.
 
Wofford held the Keydets to 41.7 percent shooting and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc, as VMI was led by Trey Bonham and Honor Huff with 20 points apiece. Connor Arnold added 13 points.
 
After holding VMI to just 29 points on 2-of-15 shooting from 3-point range (13.3%) to lead 34-29 after the first half, the Terriers pushed a 38-32 margin to open the second prior to the Keydets storming back to knot the game at 38-38 by the 16:20 mark at a Wofford timeout.
 
Larson found Klesmit for a corner three in front of Wofford's bench to reclaim a 41-38 edge, as VMI's Huff answered with the next five points to briefly flip the advantage in the Keydets' favor, 43-41. Corey Tripp drove hard to the rack for a score, sparking a 7-0 run that saw another Klesmit trey and B.J. Mack hook shot reclaim a 48-43 margin by the under-12 media timeout (11:40).
 
Out of the break, Mack and Klesmit connected on back-to-back three-balls before Ryan Larson finished at the rack to cap an 8-0 run and summon their first double-digit lead at 56-46. The Keydets trimmed the lead to two possessions by the 8:30 mark (56-50), though, Larson dimed Sam Godwin for an and-one poster dunk on a Keydet prior to corralling a steal and and-one layup of his own the next play to lead 62-50 with 7:56 remaining.
 
Klesmit and Larson briefly paced the Terriers, as free throws from Klesmit pushed a 68-54 spread, while a baseline drive from Tripp and pull-up jumper from Isaiah Bigelow boosted the advantage at 72-56 by the under-four media timeout (3:40). From there, Klesmit nailed his fourth and final trey of the night for Wofford's largest lead at 17 points, 75-58, though, the Keydets rattled off a trio of threes in a minute span to pose a threat with 1:05 left, 79-67.
 
VMI's Huff answered a B.J. Mack layup with another three at 81-70, though, the 11-point margin would be the closest the Keydets would come, as Bigelow flushed a dunk on the other end to suppress any rally with 24 seconds left to ultimately walk away with the 83-72 victory at the horn.
 
Wofford (17-12, 9-8 SoCon) returns back to Spartanburg for its regular-season finale on Saturday, Feb. 26, hosting Mercer on Senior Night at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Terriers will be honoring seniors Ryan Larson, Isaiah Bigelow, David Appelgren and Alex Michael, as tip-off is slated for a 7 p.m. start to be broadcast on ESPN+.