ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball fell to William & Mary, 74-73, in its CAA opener on Monday, Dec. 30.
 
The Phoenix was led by senior guard Marcus Sheffield, who dropped 21 points, three rebounds and three assists on the evening. Freshman guard Hunter McIntosh chipped in 18 points, while Hunter Woods recorded his first career double-double (10 pts, 10 boards) in the loss.
 
William & Mary was led by Nathan Knight, who recorded a game-high 25 points, adding six rebounds and four assists in the contest.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
After falling behind 10-3 early in the first half, the Phoenix used a 6-0 run to get back within one. A deep two by Zac Ervin followed by back-to-back buckets by Hunter McIntosh powered the Elon burst.
 
With the Tribe leading by six with 12:25 left in the opening half, Chuck Hannah scored his first points of the game to spark an 8-0 Phoenix run. Marcus Sheffield, Hunter McIntosh and Hunter Woods got in on the action from there – scoring three straight baskets to give Elon its first lead of the game.
 
Both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half and entered the break with the score knotted up at 27.

With just over 17 minutes to play in the game and Elon trailing by six, Marcus Sheffield knocked down a step-back three pointer to cut the deficit to three. Chuck Hannah's layup followed by a Hunter Woods three culminated an 8-2 Elon run that retied the game at 41.

The two sides battled back and forth for the remainder of the game, with William & Mary escaping with a one-point win.

NOTES
- The Phoenix shot 50.0 percent from the floor, including a 41.7 percent clip from beyond the arc.
- The Phoenix forced 10 Tribe turnovers and turned them into 11 points on the other end.
- Elon held a 11-9 advantage in bench points.
- There were a total of ten lead changes in the contest.

UP NEXT
Elon will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 2 when it continues CAA play against Northeastern at 7 p.m. in Boston, Mass. That game will be streamed on FloSports.