ELON, N.C. – In a tight game that saw nine lead changes and no team lead by more than seven points until the closing minutes, the Elon University men's basketball team delivered late, closing with seven unanswered points to seal a 79-69 victory against UNCG Dec. 19 at Alumni Gym, the team's 12^th straight over its Triad rival.

With the win, head coach Matt Matheny earns his 100th career victory. He is in his seventh season with Elon and ranks seventh all-time on the program's coaching list. He becomes the seventh coach to reach the century mark in victories.

The Phoenix outscored the Spartans 45-33 in the second half to win its fifth straight game. Christian Hairston paced the Phoenix with a game-high 17 points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting, while Tyler Seibring and Steven Santa Ana each added 13 points. Luke Eddy scored eight points and dished out a game-high nine assists.
 
The Highlights
UNCG jumped out a 7-0 lead in the game's first three minutes, but Elon followed with a pair a layups and a three-point play by Hairston to make it 7-7 at the under-16 media timeout.
 
The game remained close throughout the first half, with UNCG leading 14-13 at the under-12 timeout. Elon (8-3) took a 24-22 lead with 7:53 to play in the first half on an emphatic Hairston dunk off a lob from Eddy.
 
The Spartans (4-7) held a 36-34 advantage at halftime and shot 42 percent on 16-for-38 in the first 20 minutes. The Phoenix was 12-for-27 in the first half, including 6-for-15 from 3-point range.
 
Santa Ana provided a spark off the bench for Elon, scoring eight first-half points on two 3-pointers and a layup in a span of 4:04. The freshman completed a three-point play to give Elon a 52-46 lead with 13:11 to play, and finished with 13 points in 19 minutes of action.
 
Elon took an eight-point lead with 7:22 to play, but the Spartans cut the lead to one on an RJ White jumper prior to the under-4 timeout. Out of the break, Tanner Samson nailed a 3-pointer to give Elon a 72-68 advantage at the 3:25 mark.
 
With under two minutes to play and Elon leading by three, UNCG's Asad Lamot ripped Eddy of the ball and headed down the court for a layup, which Samson tracked down for a block. That led to a breakout for the Phoenix and a corner 3-pointer for Eddy to stretch Elon's lead to 75-69 with 1:25 left.
 
Diante Baldwin led the Spartans with 15 points and eight rebounds, and RJ White added 14.
 
Notes
–Elon's victory against UNCG marks the 100^th win of head coach Matt Matheny's career. Matheny is the seventh coach in program history to reach the century mark in wins and is currently in sole possession of seventh place on the all-time coaching wins list.
–Matt Matheny is now 12-1 against the Spartans as head coach of the Phoenix.
–The Phoenix has now won 13 straight games in Alumni Gym during the month of December dating back to the 2012-13 season. Elon's last loss in Alumni Gym in December was on Dec. 1, 2012 against College of Charleston.
- The 8-3 record to start the season is the first time Elon has won at least eight of its first 11 games since the 1990-1991 season. The team started 9-2 during that season and started 16-2 in its first 18 games.
–Elon's current five-game win streak is the longest for the team since winning eight straight games during the 2013-2014 season.
 
Up Next
Elon hits the road for a matchup against UNC Asheville Dec. 21 before heading to Durham, N.C. to take on Duke Dec. 28. Tip from Asheville is scheduled for 7 p.m.