ELON, NC – Elon used a balanced offensive attack to hold off St. Mary’s of Maryland for a 69-56 men’s basketball victory Tuesday night at Alumni Gym.

A back-and-forth affair, the battle featured four ties and 14 lead changes until Ross Sims’ three-point field goal with 14:27 to play put the Phoenix (1-1) ahead for good at 49-46. Elon used an 18-2 run to turn a 46-42 deficit into a 60-48 advantage and never looked back.

Rasmi Gamble (15 points, eight rebounds), Gary Marsh (13 points, two blocks) and Shamar Johnson (12 points, game-high nine rebounds) spread out Elon’s offensive load as the Phoenix out-scratched the Seahawks (0-2). St. Mary’s, a member of the NCAA Division III’s Capital Athletic Conference, was spearheaded by Jonathan Neely, who poured in a game-high 17 points.

Elon out-shined St. Mary’s in field goal percentage (46.0-39.2 percent), rebounds (39-30), assists (14-12), turnovers (17-21), blocked shots (7-3) and steals (10-8). The Seahawks out-shot the Phoenix from both the three-point (40.0-16.7 percent) and free throw (76.9-64.7 percent) lines.

Elon now travels to Maryland-Eastern Shore for a non-conference contest at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Game Box Score

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