ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team fell to Harvard, 92-77, in the third-place game at the Asheville Championship on Sunday, Nov. 13, inside the Harrah's Cherokee Center.
 
Sean Halloran and Torrence Watson tied for the team-lead in scoring for the Phoenix (1-2) with 14 points. A pair of freshmen, Max Mackinnon and Deandre Smart, joined them in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Harvard's Evan Nelson had a game-high 23 points for the Crimson (2-1) to lead five players in double figures.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Elon jumped out to a 13-9 lead after a layup by Watson with 15:05 left in the opening half. Harvard went on a 16-5 run over the next five-plus minutes to move in front 25-18.
• A pair of free throws by Smart made it a five-point game at 25-20 with 9:41 left in the first period, but an 11-3 run by the Crimson gave Harvard a 36-23 lead on a pair of free throws at the 7:01 mark.
• The Crimson took its largest lead of the half, 44-30, after a layup by Idan Tretout with just under three minutes left before the break. A late 6-3 run by the Phoenix ignited by four straight points by Zac Ervin helped the maroon and gold trim its deficit to 47-36 going into halftime.
• Elon came back out of the locker room and scored five quick points in just over a minute into the second half to make it a six-point game, 47-41, after a Watson three-pointer. Harvard however countered with an 11-3 run to go back up by 14, 58-44.
• A three-pointer by Watson with 15:46 left in the game brought the Phoenix within 11, 58-47, but that would be as close Elon would get in the second half. Harvard would keep a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to earn the 92-77 win.
 
NOTES
• Watson scored in double figures for the second time in the Phoenix's three games this season as he leads Elon with 34 points this year (11.3 average).
• Halloran scored in double figures for the first time in a Phoenix uniform. The Orlando, Fla., native was 5-of-11 and also had three assists.
• Mackinnon had his best scoring output of his rookie season so far as he also went 5-of-11 and tied Halloran for the team-lead in assists with three. He also played a season-best 29 minutes.
• Smart added his second double-digit scoring contest of the young season and led the Phoenix with seven rebounds.
• Aided by Mackinnon and Smart, Elon outscored Harvard's bench, 33-28.
• The Phoenix shot 25-of-56 from the field and was 7-of-23 from the three-point line. Elon made a season-best 20 free throws after going 20-of-29 from the charity stripe.
 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to Schar Center for a matchup versus North Dakota on Thursday, Nov. 17. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. with streaming available on FloHoops.