SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Colin Wyatt scored 14 points and Elon withstood a late Wofford rally to post a 64-61 win over the Terriers at Benjamin Johnson Arena on Wednesday night.
The game marked the first Southern Conference contest of the season for each team.
Wofford (5-9, 0-1) took a 13-8 lead with 14:13 left in the half before Elon (4-9, 1-0) went on a 15-0 run. Elon’s spurt gave the Phoenix a 23-13 lead with 6:48 to play in the half and Elon would keep the lead for the remainder of the game. During the streak, Wofford missed all nine field goal attempts while Elon converted six of nine shots.
Wofford’s Tyler Berg ended the scoreless streak with an offensive rebound and put back. Berg tied his career-high with 23 points.
Elon held a 27-25 halftime lead then outscored the Terriers 14-4 to start the second half for a 41-29 advantage. Elon’s largest lead of the night was a 13-point advantage at 51-38 with 6:58 remaining in the game.
Elon led 61-53 with 51 seconds remaining in the game. Shane Nichols drained a 3-pointer to cut the Wofford deficit to five at 61-56. Elon’s Montell Watson hit one of two free throws with 38 seconds remaining before Nichols hit another 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to pull Wofford within 62-59. Scottie Rice hit two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to push Elon’s lead to 64-59. Berg put back a missed shot with one second remaining for the 64-61 final.
Howard Wilkerson led the Terriers with a season-best 12 rebounds but struggled from the field on 2-of-10 shooting.
Watson and Rice each finished with 11 points for the Phoenix while Jackson Atoyebi added 10. LeVonn Jordan led Elon with seven rebounds while Rice tallied five assists.
Wofford will visit South Division preseason favorite Davidson on Saturday night at 7 pm. Elon will host Appalachian State Saturday night at 7 at Alumni Gym.
-ELON- Game Box Score