SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A late first-half scoring drought was too much to overcome as the Elon Phoenix dropped a 72-56 decision to the Wofford Terriers in Southern Conference men’s basketball action from Ben Johnson Arena on Wednesday night. Elon went scoreless over the final four minutes of the first period as Wofford (16-8, 8-3) tacked on nine unanswered points to take an 11-point lead into the break. The Phoenix (4-17, 2-8) would never get closer than seven for the remainder of the contest.

“Tonight it wasn’t a specific thing, it was a lot of small things that cost us the game,” stated Elon head coach Matt Matheny.

Elon turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 17 times and the Terriers took advantage, scoring 20 points off the miscues. Wofford held a decided advantage on the glass (38-27), specifically on the offensive end of the floor. The home team pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and netted 21 second-chance points.

Phoenix forward Adam Constantine led Elon with 17 points, connecting on 7-of-8 field goal attempts. TJ Douglas added 11 and Terrance Birdette came off the bench for 10 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble. Drew Spradlin had a quiet night, scoring only seven points after averaging over 20 points per game in the last five contests. The guard did lead the Phoenix with five rebounds.

After a back-and-forth first half, Elon found itself down only two, 27-25, at the final media timeout of the opening half. The Phoenix could not find the bottom of the net over the next four minutes, giving Wofford the chance to go on a 9-0 run and take a 36-25 lead into the break. Elon turned the ball over nine times in the opening stanza and only got to the line for two free throw attempts compared to Wofford’s 15 chances at the stripe.

Two Brett Ervin free throws at the 18:52 mark ended a five-minute scoreless stretch that bridged both halves, as Elon made it a nine-point game, 36-27. With some key players in foul trouble, Ervin gave the Phoenix good minutes off the bench, scoring two points and pulling down three boards in nine minutes of action.

Wofford’s lead hovered around 11 points until a Douglas three-pointer followed by a Constantine layup made it a seven-point game, 44-37, at 12:33. Elon forced a Terrier miss on the next possession, but Wofford battled on the boards and scored off an offensive rebound to maintain its lead. A 9-2 Terrier run gave Wofford a 55-39 advantage with 9:03 to play.

Elon didn’t go down easy, using a 15-7 stretch over the next five minutes to get within eight, 62-54, with 4:21 on the clock. Again, Wofford’s rebounding prowess haunted the Phoenix as Junior Salters scored off a Terrier miss to take the lead back to double figures. Wofford closed the game on a 10-2 run to earn its eighth SoCon victory of the season.

On the night, Elon shot the ball well, hitting 21-of-43 (48.8%) from the field and 5-of-12 (41.7%) from long range. The 12 three-point attempts were a season low as the Phoenix averages 23 long-range shots per game.

For the second consecutive contest, Elon struggled from the charity stripe, managing only 9-of-16 of its free throw attempts. Wofford got to the line 32 times, scoring 20 points at the stripe. In the two-game series this season, the Terriers outscored Elon 51-26 from 15 feet.

Elon will look to end its two-game skid when it takes on the Furman Paladins in league action from Timmons Arena on Saturday, February 6. The game will be televised on CSS with the tip scheduled for 8:05 p.m.