Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Behind a career-high 22 points and 15 rebounds from freshman Travis McKie, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons posted an 89-70 victory over the host Elon Phoenix at the Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday night in non-conference men’s basketball action. McKie went 9-of-13 from the field and Wake Forest shot a blistering 54.8 percent as the Deacons improved to 2-2 on the young season. Elon, playing the first of four Atlantic Coast Conference opponents this year, dropped to 1-2 overall.

“I have seen every one of Wake Forest’s games on film this year and they continue to improve,” commented Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We are competitively tough and we competed for the entire game. We were better tonight than we were at South Carolina, but we had lapses and got discouraged.”

Chris Long’s 17 points led three Elon scorers in double figures. Long shot 7-of-12 from the field and added four assists. Sophomore Roger Dugas dropped 14 points on 4-of-7 from long range. Junior Drew Spradlin contributed 11 points and rookie Lucas Troutman led Elon on the glass with six boards. Wake Forest had five players in double figures.

Behind seven straight points from Spradlin to begin the game, the Phoenix took an early 14-2 lead at the 14:19 mark. Through the first eight minutes of action, Elon connected on 9-of-14 from the field, gaining a 20-12 advantage with 12:16 on the clock. The Phoenix forced six Demon Deacon turnovers during the span, drawing two early charges. Elon would force 14 WFU miscues in the opening 20 minutes.

“I thought our first 10 minutes of basketball was fantastic,” Matheny noted. “There are a ton of positives to pull from that. We came out as the aggressor.”

After both Jack Isenbarger and Troutman went to the bench with two fouls midway through the half, the Phoenix went cold from the floor, not making a field goal for over 11 minutes. A Dugas three-pointer 47 seconds before the break finally halted a 25-3 Wake Forest run and put Elon within 11, 37-26. Troutman dumped in the final bucket of the half and the Phoenix found itself with nine, 37-28, heading into the locker room.

Elon shot 35.5 percent from the field, while Wake connected on 50.0 percent, including 4-of-5 from downtown. The Demon Deacons dominated the glass in the first 20 minutes, holding a 25-11 advantage.

Wake Forest quickly stretched its lead back to 14, 46-32, at 15:59, before Elon used a zone defense to get back-to-back stops. Consecutive triples by Dugas and a bucket by Long helped Elon to claw within eight, 48-40, with 14:10 to go.

With the score 55-45 at 12:12, Wake reeled off nine unanswered points capped by a McKie trey. Elon would never get closer than 13 in the remainder of the contest as the visitors stretched their lead to as many as 23 before the final horn.

A normally strong three-point shooting team, Elon struggled from beyond the arc, hitting 8-of-27 (29.6 percent). Wake nailed 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from three and was an impressive 13-of-15 from the free throw line. Elon connected on only 6-of-15 from the stripe. Wake finished with a 48-26 advantage on the glass.

Elon will have a quick turnaround as the Phoenix host Hampden-Sydney in Alumni Gym on Monday, November 22 at 7 p.m.