Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A season-high 22 points from guard Drew Spradlin was not enough as the Elon men’s basketball team dropped its Southern Conference opener, 80-65, to the Furman Paladins at Timmons Arena on Wednesday night. Furman’s Amu Saaka netted a game-high 24 points while Noah States scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to lead Furman (4-2, 1-0) to the win. Elon fell to 2-4 overall, 0-1 in the conference.

Spradlin shot 7-of-10 from the field with a perfect night from both three-point territory (3-3) and the free throw line (5-5). He was the leading rebounder as well with six boards. Senior guard Chris Long was the only other Phoenix in double figures, contributing 14 points on 7-of-8 free throw shooting. He also added three assists, bringing his career total to 362 and moving him into third place all-time at Elon.

The foul-plagued contest lacked rhythm as Spradlin and forward Scott Grable were relegated to the bench for the majority of the first half. Spradlin dumped in eight of Elon’s first 11 points in the opening four and half minutes of action as the Phoenix took an 11-5 advantage. His second foul, one of the 50 that were called in the contest, came with 13:02 to play and forced him to the bench until the final minutes of the period.

Elon moved its lead to 15-8 on a Ryley Beaumont jumper before Saaka netted four of the next six Paladin points to cut the advantage to one, 15-14, with 10:57 on the clock. With the score knotted at 24, Furman used an 11-3 stretch over a three-minute span to pull ahead, 35-27, with 2:40 before the break. Spradlin returned to the game and immediately nailed two free throws and a bucket to halt the run. Elon closed the gap to five, but a Saaka dunk punctuated a seven-point Furman edge at the half, 39-32.

Spradlin scored 12 points in nine minutes in the opening stanza. The Phoenix shot 43.5 percent from the field, including 4-of-8 from long range. Furman shot an impressive 52 percent, connecting on high percentage shots and outscoring Elon 14-6 in the paint.

Saaka and States combined for Furman’s first 10 points of the second half as the home team took a 49-38 lead with 14:28 remaining. With the lead still hovering at 10 points, a Roger Dugas triple and a lay-up by Long trimmed the advantage to five, 50-45, at the 12:48 mark. Furman responded with a 9-1 run capped by a Jordan Miller three-pointer that extended the Paladin lead to 59-46. Elon would never get closer than eight for the remainder of the contest.

The Paladins finished with a 34-18 advantage in the paint and owned a 40-27 edge on the glass. Furman scored 14 second-chance points compared to only two by the Phoenix. Elon connected on 42 percent from the field while Furman shot 49.1 percent.

Elon begins a four-game home stretch on Saturday night when it will host the Southern Conference defending champion Wofford Terriers at Alumni Gym at 7 p.m. It is a “White Out” game and all fans in attendance will receive a free T-shirt at the door.