ELON N.C.– Elon University men's basketball fell to Towson, 59-54, on Saturday, Jan. 15, at Schar Center.
 
"Obviously this was a very tough loss," head coach Mike Schrage opened. "I thought we came out prepared and made a statement there in the first half. We probably could've created more separation if not for the turnovers and if we were a little cleaner offensively. I thought we were wired for the most part defensively and we're growing into the team that we have to be on the defensive end of the court. Our guys did a good job to make that run in the second half, but we put Towson at the free throw line a few times and kind of lost our momentum that way. Wish we would've executed better down the stretch, but I think we're all just anxious to get to the video to use this to grow and get better."
 
THE RUNDOWN
- Towson opened the scoring with two quick baskets before the Phoenix turned the tides with a Darius Burford steal that led to a fast break layup by Michael Graham. The play sparked a 7-0 Elon run that was capped by a Zac Ervin three to give the Phoenix a 7-4 lead with 14:31 remaining.
- Midway through the first half, the maroon and gold started heating up from beyond the arc. Hunter McIntosh opened the scoring with his first three of the night, then hit the heat check triple on the next possession following an Elon steal. Moments later, a triple from Burford and a layup by Graham made it an 11-0 Phoenix run, giving it an 18-8 lead with 8:39 still to play in the opening 20 minutes.
- Both teams found their rhythm late in the first half, but three pointers from Chuck Hannah and Kris Wooten followed by four quick points for Graham in the final two minutes kept the Phoenix on top. Elon took a 31-26 lead into the break.
- The Tigers went on an 11-5 run to open the second half to claw back and take a 39-36 lead with 11:28 remaining in the game. Elon would continue to battle, as a smooth floater by Hunter Woods halted a 9-0 Towson run at the 10:36 mark and brought the Phoenix back within one. From there, Towson used a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game (49-40) with just over seven minutes remaining.
- The Phoenix responded with a 12-0 run of its own to take a 52-49 lead. Hunter Woods was the catalyst for the spurt, scoring 7 of Elon's 12 unanswered points, including a put-back and-one layup during the stretch. The burst was capped by a Chuck Hannah triple to recapture the lead for the Phoenix at 52-49 with 2:44 left to play.
- Towson outscored Elon 10-2 in the final 2:33 of play to secure the win, 59-54.
 
NOTES
- Hunter McIntosh led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping 13 points, five assists and two rebounds in 36 minutes. The game marked the 10^th double-digit scoring outing of the season for McIntosh and the 44^th such game in his career.
- Chuck Hannah chipped in a season-high 10 points, adding four rebounds in 28 minutes. Hannah also matched a career-high with two made threes in the contest.
- Michael Graham finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks in his 27 minutes on the court. Graham has now scored at least 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in five consecutive games and nine times overall this season.
- Darius Burford paced Elon with eight rebounds, adding five points, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes. Tonight marked the eighth game this season Burford has finished with at least two steals, while his eight rebounds are his most in a game since grabbing 12 against Bluefield earlier this year.
- Hunter Woods and Zac Ervin combined for 12 points and six rebounds in the loss.
- The Phoenix held a 6-2 advantage in bench points and a 12-8 advantage in assists in the contest.
 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to action on Monday, Jan. 17, for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup with James Madison at Schar Center. That contest is slated for a 4 p.m. tip and will be streamed live on FloSports.