WINSTON-SALEM – Whether Wake Forest needed a gritty, grimy, tough, together game or not, the Deacons got one against visiting VMI on Tuesday night at Joel Coliseum.

And after trailing for 35 minutes, Wake Forest’s 77-70 win was all of those things.

Alondes Williams led the Deacons (10-1) with a career-high 36 points, as the Oklahoma transfer continues to show he’s one of the best players in the ACC. It was Isaiah Mucius, though, who hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes – one to give Wake Forest its first lead, and the other to put the Deacons ahead for good.

“I just thought it was a really gritty, grimy, tough win,” coach Steve Forbes said. “We came a long way from when we were down against LSU at Thanksgiving. You know, we fractured a little bit, we let adversity get to us.

“I thought we really … showed some character tonight.”

This came with the Deacons missing Jake LaRavia, who was out because of health and safety protocols.

VMI (7-5) jumped out to an 18-4 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, and hit four 3-pointers in doing so. The Keydets led by as many as 17 in the first half – Kamdyn Curfman, who finished with 24 points, had 16 at halftime and hit some long-range 3-pointers a few times when the Deacons looked poised to go on a run.

Wake Forest’s move to get this into a competitive game was in the opening salvo of the second half, when Williams assisted on a Mucius 3-pointer, hit a mid-range jumper, and then added a 3-pointer of his own.

It was another complete game from Williams – though he didn’t quite match his triple-double from Saturday night. He had five rebounds and three assists, along with scoring the most points for a Deacon since Justin Gray scored 38 against Maryland in 2006.

Williams was not available for an interview after the game.

That 8-0 spurt helped, but the Deacons never took the lead – and actually trailed by 11 midway through the second half – until the 3:09 mark, when Mucius drained a wing 3-pointer.

Williams tacked on two free throws on Wake’s next possession, but VMI’s Jake Stephens hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 68-68 with 2:21 left.

On the ensuing possession, Mucius drilled a corner 3 in front of Wake Forest’s bench. Before his closing flurry, he was 1-for-7 in the game.

“I put in thousands and thousands of shots, so at the end of the day I’m never going to get down on myself if I miss a couple,” Mucius said. “I’m going to keep shooting until the next one goes in, and it was a test tonight.”

Defense isn’t to be left out – that Stephens 3-pointer in the closing minutes was VMI’s only field goal of the final eight minutes.

“We told them, ‘Hey man, if you don’t guard, we’re not going to win,’” Forbes said.

Wake Forest has one non-conference game left, against Charlotte on Friday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. It’s technically a neutral-court game as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout.

It’s unclear if LaRavia will be able to return for that game.

The official statement from a Wake Forest spokesperson was: “In accordance with Wake Forest University, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and the Atlantic Coast Conference Medical Advisory Group health and safety protocols, Wake Forest will be without a few members of its team on Tuesday. Because our top priority is the health and safety of our student-athletes and staff, this is the right decision to ensure their health and safety.”

LaRavia and walk-on Luc Robinson were the only players missing; the entire coaching staff seemed to be back after a few members missed a few games in the past two weeks. Robert McCray was on the Deacons’ bench but was not in uniform and was wearing a mask.