ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball led wire-to-wire, as the Phoenix opened CAA play with a 79-62 victory over Northeastern on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Schar Center.
 
"Really just proud of our guys," head coach Mike Schrage opened. "We put them through a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, and I think we mostly maintained our confidence through it. I thought we had two great practices our first two days back from break - just to find out we would be without a few guys tonight. But the guys adapted well. A big expression for us is strength in numbers and believing in our group and what we can still accomplish. I thought tonight we really went out there and set the tone so just proud of the guys."
 
THE RUNDOWN
- Elon controlled the game from the opening tap, jumping out to an early 10-5 advantage. Zac Ervin got things rolling with his three to start the game, before a put-back layup by Jerald Gillens-Butler put Elon up 5-2. After a Darius Burford steal and score put the Phoenix up by five, a score by Northeastern cut the deficit back to two. Moments later, Ervin capped the early spurt with his second three of the night.
- With the score sitting at 12-8 coming out of the first media timeout, the Phoenix used a 19-2 run to gain some separation from the Huskies. Burford opened the burst with a hanging runner over a Northeastern defender before back-to-back three by Hunter McIntosh and Kris Wooten respectively pushed the lead to 12. After a Michael Graham layup brought the score to 22-8, four quick points for Burford extended the advantage to 26-10. Gillens-Butler's three at the 8:41 mark pushed the Elon lead to 29-10 before Burford capped the spurt with his pull-up jumper with just over eight minutes until halftime.
- Northeastern chipped the lead down to 11 with five minutes remaining in the first half, but six straight points from Graham sparked a 12-1 Elon run to close the opening 20 minutes. Back-to-back threes from McIntosh and Gillens-Butler capped the burst that left the Phoenix up 46-24 at the break.   
- The Huskies battled back to open the second half, dwindling the Elon lead down to 13 after an 8-0 run. After McIntosh's triple at the 14:56 mark of the second half, Northeastern held the Phoenix scoreless for nearly five minutes of game time to fight back into the contest. Despite the run, Elon held a 57-44 lead with 10:18 remaining in the game.
- After a 7-0 Northeastern run got the Huskies back within 10 with three minutes remaining, McIntosh powered a 10-3 Phoenix run to close the game. The junior opened the late burst with his triple with 2:30 remaining. On the next offensive possession, McIntosh found a wide-open Hannah for an easy layup. McIntosh then drilled his sixth and final triple of the night to put Elon back up by 15 with less than a minute to play. Gillens-Butler capped the run with his step-back jumper on Elon's final possession.
 
NOTES
- Darius Burford led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping a season-high 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Burford also added five rebounds, three assists and three steals in his 34 minutes of action. The sophomore has now registered at least 10 points and two steals in five games this season.
- Hunter McIntosh finished with a season-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half, adding five rebounds in a team-high 38 minutes. McIntosh matched a career-high with six triples in the contest, shooting 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. The effort also marked the eighth double-figure scoring outing for the junior this season.
- Michael Graham filled out the stat sheet for Elon, chipping in 10 points and a season-high four blocks while matching career-highs in assists (2) and steals (2). The performance was the third 10+ points, 4+ rebounds outing for the sophomore in his last four games.
- Jerald Gillens-Butler added 10 points, while setting new season-highs in rebounds (7), assists (3) and minutes (25). Gillens-Butler has posted at least 10 points and five rebounds in two of his last three games.
- Zac Ervin posted eight points and three rebounds in 21 minutes, while Chuck Hannah logged five points, four rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes. Kris Wooten rounded out the scoring for the Phoenix, finishing the night with three points, five rebounds and three assists.
- Elon scored 24 points in the paint, 15 points off turnovers and 12 second chance points.
- The Phoenix allowed season-lows in field goal percentage (34.0), three-point percentage (22.7) and points in a half (24 – 1^st half).
- Elon's 12 made threes tonight were the most since the team made 12 against High Point earlier this season.
- Elon never trailed, leading by as much as 22 en route to the win.
- The Phoenix moved to 4-2 at Schar Center and 1-0 in CAA play this season with the win. The game marked the first time since the 2017-18 season that the Phoenix opened conference play with a win and moved Elon to 5-11 in the all-time series against Northeastern.
 
UP NEXT
Elon closes out its opening week of conference play on Friday, Dec. 31, when it hosts Hofstra at Schar Center. The New Year's Eve matchup is slated for a 12 p.m. tipoff and will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.