ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball won its second consecutive game on Sunday, Nov. 14, defeating Bluefield, 89-72, at Schar Center. The win moved the Phoenix to 2-0 at home this season and 2-1 overall.
 
"You celebrate any win but really where I'm most proud of our team is how we've started the past two games and how we've started coming out of halftime," head coach Mike Schrage explained. "You can kind of start to pick apart things from there, but we'll always take a win. We needed to get these two wins to gain even more confidence as we move forward with our non-conference schedule. We just have to keep getting better and understand the challenge that's ahead of us to eventually help us get ready for conference play."

THE RUNDOWN
- Elon opened the game on a 9-3 run to take an early six-point advantage. Michael Graham sparked the spurt with his put-back layup that gave Elon its first points of the game. On the next trip down the floor, Zac Ervin knocked down his first three of the game to put the Phoenix on top 5-0. Two quick scores from Darius Burford and Graham respectively rounded out the game-opening run.
- After Bluefield cut the deficit back down to six with four minutes to play in the first half, three made free throws by Burford, followed by an and-one for Torrence Watson, put Elon back up by 12 with just over three minutes before the break.
- A late score by Bluefield to end the half cut their deficit to 11, but Elon entered the break leading 41-30.
- Elon surged out of the gates in the second half, using a 14-0 run to take a 23-point lead. Ervin, Hunter McIntosh and Watson each drilled threes to spark the run, giving Elon an 18-point lead with 18 minutes remaining in the game. Back-to-back layups by Darius Burford rounded out the burst that put Elon on top 55-32.
- The Rams cut the Phoenix's advantage down to as little as 11 before an 8-2 run put the game out of reach. After a Graham layup extended the lead to 13, Ervin hit his fifth three of the day to give Elon a 16-point cushion. Watson rounded out the spurt with his second and-one of the day that left Bluefield down by 17 with seven minutes remaining in the contest.

NOTES
- Zac Ervin led the way for the Phoenix, dropping a career-high 29 points and eight rebounds in just over 32 minutes. Ervin knocked down six threes on the night, marking his second consecutive game with at least five made threes.
- Darius Burford added 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, logging his first career double-double in 33 minutes of action. Burford's 12 rebounds and six assists were each career-highs for the sophomore.
- Michael Graham posted his first career double-double, finishing the afternoon with 11 points, 11 rebounds and one blocked shot. Graham shot 5-of-8 from the field and grabbed five  of his 11 boards on the offensive glass.
- Hunter Woods chipped in 10 points and five assists in 24 minutes.
- Hunter McIntosh and Torrence Watson combined for 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win.
- The Phoenix held a 36-16 advantage in points in the paint and a 21-9 advantage in assists.
 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to action on Thursday, Nov. 18, when it travels to Charleston, S.C. to take on West Virginia on day one of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic. That contest is slated for a 9 p.m. tip and will be broadcasted live on ESPN2.