Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Elon men’s basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped, falling 82-67, to an aggressive NC State team in front of a rowdy crowd at historic Reynolds Coliseum on Friday. Phoenix (3-2) forward Lucas Troutman dropped a game-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but the Wolfpack (5-1) hit on all cylinders to keep Elon at bay.

The Pack, led by Lorenzo Brown’s career-high 21 points and six assists, connected on 45.7 percent of its field goals. Elon had held its previous three opponents to under 33 percent shooting, but State hit the ground running from the opening tip and nailed 18-of-32 (56.3) in the first half. Scott Wood was a difference-maker in the game as well, coming off the bench and canning 5-of-6 from downtown.

Elon also got double figure scoring from Sebastian Koch, who hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for 12 points. He pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and dished off four assists. Jack Isenbarger added a season-best 11 points in 15 minutes of action.

“They played better than we did and what’s disappointing for me is that we didn’t play as well as we can play,” noted Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “But I’m not certain if we had played better, that it would have meant we would have won the game. They dictated first in transition and (Lorenzo) Brown was very, very good — the way he pushed the ball, the way he made the right decisions from himself and for others. And then they dominated the glass. We will learn from these things and get better.”

The Phoenix struggled to contain the NC State big men on the glass as the Pack finished the contest with a 49-33 advantage on the boards, including a 22-6 mark in the second half.

A Drew Spradlin old-fashioned three-point play gave Elon a 5-1 lead to open the game, but the Phoenix would quickly go cold from the field. A 20-2 NC State run that spanned eight minutes gave the Pack a comfortable 21-7 lead with 10:33 on the clock.

Rookie Austin Hamilton drove the lane and finally converted for the Phoenix, then forced a turnover in the backcourt and trimmed the lead to 10, 21-11. The teams traded triples before Koch knocked down a bucket from downtown to pull Elon within seven, 24-17, at 8:33.

For each Phoenix spurt, State seemed to have an answer, as the home team scored the next six points and stretched its lead back to double figures. The Pack took a 43-32 lead into the locker room.  

State scored the first five points of the second half and forced a quick Elon timeout with the score 48-32 in favor of the hosts. Troutman did his best to get the Phoenix within striking distance, at one point scoring six straight to make it 55-44 with 14:07 on the clock.

NC State seemed to always have an answer, bringing a raucous crowd to its feet with transition dunks or a Wood bomb. Wood’s fifth triple would give State its largest lead at 78-53 with under six minutes to play and the Wolfpack remained unbeaten at Reynolds since its move to the RBC Center in 1999.

Elon will get an early start to Southern Conference action on Wednesday, November 30 when the Furman Paladins visit Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. tip. The Phoenix is 2-0 on its home court this season.