ELON, N.C. – The Elon men’s basketball team posted a strong defensive effort in its first game in Alumni Gym in nearly 40 days, but the Phoenix struggled from the field as it fell, 53-48, to the visiting Furman Paladins in Southern Conference action on Thursday night. Despite scoreless stretches to begin both halves, Elon (3-11, 1-2) found itself with a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds on the clock. TJ Douglas’ three-pointer fell short and Furman’s Amu Saaka sank two free throws as Furman moved to 8-6 overall, 2-1 in league action.

“We are close,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We defended well enough to win this game and that is something we talk about a lot in practice. As we build this team and this program, we want to be a team of defenders. Tonight, we did not make our shots and we shot poorly from the free throw line, but with under a minute remaining, we still had a chance to win the game. That is encouraging, but we need more.”

Elon had three players in double figures, led by Drew Spradlin with 12 points. Devan Carter contributed 11 points and Chris Long dumped in 10. The Phoenix struggled on the glass as Furman won the rebounding battle, 47-33. Saaka and Colin Reddick each posted double-digit rebounding numbers with 10 and 12, respectively. Jordan Miller was the top Paladin scorer with 11 points on 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Both teams had poor shooting nights — Elon connected on 20-of-59 (33.9) from the field and only 2-of-16 (12.5) from long range. The Phoenix has yet to win a game when it doesn’t make at least nine triples. Furman managed only 18-of-52 (34.6) field goals and 4-of-20 (20.0) from downtown.

After overcoming a six-minute scoring drought to start the game, the Phoenix held a 25-24 lead to open the final half. Again Elon was unable to find its scoring touch, missing its first five shots before Spradlin connected on a jumper at the 15:45 mark. Furman scored the next eight points to take a 34-27 advantage, before a Cater layup ended the scoreless stretch for the Phoenix.

Elon would go on a little 11-0 run of its own, capped by a Carter steal and layup to regain the lead, 36-34, with 9:50 on the clock. The lead changed hands several times over the next six minutes and was tied at 47 with 3:51 to play. Elon’s offense came up dry in the final stretch and Furman managed to score six of the last seven points to earn the league victory.

Defensively, Elon racked up 13 steals, the most against a Division I team this season. The Phoenix forced the Paladins to turn the ball over 21 times in the contest. After a somewhat sloppy start to the game which featured seven Elon turnovers in the first 12 minutes, the Phoenix regained composure and had only two miscues in the second half, 12 in the contest.

Furman opened the game on an 8-0 run, before the Phoenix scored seven straight to make in a one-point contest with 11:55 remaining in the first half. Short Furman spurts allowed the Paladins to push their lead to seven, 22-15, with under five minutes to play before the break. The Elon defense came up big, holding Furman to one bucket for the remainder of the period. The Phoenix used a 10-2 run to take a 25-24 advantage into the locker room.