FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – Elon University men's basketball fell to Arkansas, 81-55, in its non-conference finale on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at Bud Walton Arena.
 
THE RUNDOWN
- Both sides battled to open the game with Elon taking an early 3-2 advantage following a Chuck Hannah three. The two teams would then trade scores on the next several possessions before Zac Ervin knocked down his lone triple of the contest to put the Phoenix on top 10-8 with just over 15 minutes remaining in the opening half.
- After Arkansas used an 11-6 run to take a three-point advantage, Elon answered back with a 10-2 run of its own. Hunter Woods ignited the spurt with his triple at the 9:48 mark followed by a pull-up jumper from Darius Burford to put the Phoenix back up by two. The Razorbacks would then knock down two free throws to retie the game at 21 before Burford's first triple gave Elon back the lead. Michael Graham capped the run with his two-handed throwdown with 6:11 remaining to give the Phoenix its largest lead of the game at 26-21.
- Arkansas closed the first half on a 17-0 run to enter the break leading 38-26.
- The Phoenix opened the second stanza with two quick scores from Hunter McIntosh and Woods respectively to bring the score to 38-30. From there, Arkansas took control of the game on the power of a 22-6 run. The burst lasted just under seven minutes and gave the Razorbacks a 60-36 lead with ten minutes remaining in the game.
- Elon continued to battle down the stretch, going on a 13-0 run to get back within 17. Torrence Watson got things going with his first three of the game, before five quick points from Kris Wooten cut the deficit to 22 with 5:45 to play. Burford culminated the run with five points of his own to bring the score to 68-51 with four minutes remaining.
- The Razorbacks used a late 11-0 run to secure the win.
 
NOTES
- Michael Graham led the way for the Phoenix, dropping 14 points, six rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes. Graham finished the night 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and has now scored at least 10 points in five games this season.
- Darius Burford added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals on the night, knocking down a season-high two triples along the way. Burford has scored in double figures seven times this season and has now nabbed at least two steals in five of his last seven games.
- Hunter McIntosh and Hunter Woods combined for 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on the night.
- Torrence Watson and Kris Wooten each finished the night with five points, while Chuck Hannah, Jerald Gillens-Butler and Zac Ervin had three points apiece.
- Elon scored 22 points in the paint, 18 points off the bench, 12 points off turnovers and eight second chance points.
- The Phoenix held Arkansas to a season-low 2-of-12 shooting from distance in the second half (16.7 percent).
 
UP NEXT
Elon opens conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 29, when it hosts Northeastern at Schar Center. That matchup is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff and will be streamed live on FloSports.