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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Despite a valiant second-half comeback, the Elon men’s basketball team was not able to overcome a big first-half deficit and the sharp-shooting South Carolina Gamecocks, falling 94-79 in the season-opener at the Colonial Life Arena on Friday night. Behind a game-high 22 points from freshman Jack Isenbarger, Elon (0-1) outscored South Carolina (1-0) 53-51 in the final half.

“I am happy we fought back,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We came into this game having played 12 guys in our exhibition games and we were uncertain of our rotation. I think we had some veterans do some good things and some newcomers do some good things. We just need to find the right chemistry on the floor.”

After trailing 43-26 at the break after a poor shooting first-half, it looked like it might be more of the same in the final period as South Carolina opened on a 20-11 run that extended the home team’s lead to 65-37 with 13:40 to play.

While the Gamecock advantage continued to hover in the 20-point range over the next seven minutes, Elon slowly began chipping away. The Phoenix outscored South Carolina 36-19 during a nine-minute stretch, an Isenbarger three-pointer pulling Elon within 11, 84-73, with 4:33 to play. Despite a South Carolina miss on the next possession, Elon gave the ball back on its next two trips down the floor and the Gamecocks made the Phoenix pay. The Phoenix would get back within 11 one final time, but South Carolina managed to hit late free throws and stifle any hope of an Elon comeback.

Isenbarger scored 22 points, 17 in the second half, on 7-of-11 from the field in his debut in the maroon and gold. Senior Chris Long contributed 14 points, knocking down 8-of-10 from the free throw stripe. Sophomore Roger Dugas drained 3-of-5 from downtown to add 11 points for the Phoenix. Junior Drew Spradlin led Elon on the glass with 10 boards, while netting nine points and dishing a team-high five assists. Elon got 44 points from its bench.

Elon hit 16-of-17 from the charity stripe in the second half after managing only 4-of-11 in the first half. The Phoenix also outrebounded the opposition 20-17 in the final period after getting outgained 26-16 to begin the game.

The pressure of South Carolina was evident from the start as the Gamecocks turned early Elon turnovers into points. The home team was all over the offensive glass, jumping on top 11-6 at the 15:02 mark. The highly physical contest put the Phoenix in the bonus midway through the half, but Elon couldn’t find the bottom of the net in the field or from the stripe.

Managing only two field goals through nearly 11 minutes of play, a Terrance Birdette three-pointer ended a seven-minute scoreless stretch for the Phoenix. It turned into a five-point possession as Scott Grable was fouled after the shot and knocked down two free throws to close the gap to 22-11 with 9:09 before the break.

The shooting woes continued for Elon and South Carolina went up as many as 20 before Isenbarger closed the half with a triple to make it 43-26 after 20 minutes of action.

The Phoenix made only eight buckets in the first half, but six came from long range. Elon finished the game shooting 13-of-31 from beyond the arc. Six South Carolina players scored in double figures with Sam Muldrow leading the way with 20 points. Lakeem Jackson had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. The Gamecocks shot 53 percent on the night, including a 9-of-16 performance from long range.

Elon will have a quick turnaround as it plays host to College of New Jersey in the first regular-season contest in the newly renovated Alumni Gym on Monday, November 14 at 7 p.m.