RADFORD, VA. – The Elon University men's basketball team fell to the Radford Highlanders, 68-56, on Saturday, Dec. 10, inside the Dedmon Center.
 
Dainan Swoope led the Phoenix with a team-high 13 points. Steven Santa Ana (12) and Brian Dawkins (10) also finished in double figures for Elon. Luke Eddy dished out a team-high three assists and Tyler Seibring grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
 
The Highlanders were paced by Ed. Polite Jr.'s double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds. Justin Cousin also scored 14 points for Radford and finished with a team-high four assists.
 
The Phoenix falls to 6-4 overall with the loss and Radford improves to 4-5 with the victory. Elon was held to 33.3 (25-of-69) percent shooting and the Highlanders had the 44-35 edge on the boards.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Tyler Seibring scored the first five points of the game and Elon held the 5-4 lead entering the first media timeout at 15:48. Then, Radford responded with a 12-2 run into the second media timeout at 12:25 to take a 16-7 lead.
 
Swoope drained a three with 4:48 left in the half, cutting Radford's lead to seven, 23-16. However, the Highlanders pushed their lead back to nine 31-22 with 49 seconds to go in the first stanza. Steven Santa Ana scored five points in the final 22 seconds to cut Radford's lead to four, 31-27, at halftime. He drained a triple and made a layup at the buzzer after Eddy's steal to close the half.  
 
Elon opened the second half with a 12-4 run, capped off by Santa Ana's three-pointer, giving the Phoenix a 39-35 lead with 15:14 remaining.
 
Radford answered with an 11-0 run that thrusted the Highlanders to a 46-39 lead at 8:24. The hosts then continued its push and extended its lead to 14, 57-43, with just over three minutes to play.
 
The Phoenix attempted to claw its way back into the game with ball pressure and traps, but Radford closed out the victory from the free throw line.
 
NOTES
- Both Dainan Swoope and Collin Luther made their first-career starts against the Highlanders.
- Santa Ana scored 10 of Elon's 17 points from the 22-second mark in the first half until the Phoenix had a 39-35 lead with 15:14 remaining in the second half.
- Brian Dawkins scored in double figures for the eighth time this season with 10 against Radford.
 
UP NEXT
Following finals week, Elon hits the road again on Sunday, Dec. 18, to face the Saint Peter's Peacocks at 2 p.m.