RALEIGH, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team made a couple of rallies in the second half, but NC State held off its comeback attempt as the Phoenix fell to the Wolfpack, 74-63, in its interstate matchup on Saturday, Nov. 19, at PNC Arena.
 
Elon fell to 1-4 in its first meeting against its inter-state rival since 2011. Torrence Watson scored a season-high 20 points to lead the maroon and gold while knocking down four treys in the contest, also a season-best. Max Mackinnon added 11 points for Elon to join Watson in double figures.
 
NC State's (4-0) Jack Clark had a game-high 21 points to pace the Wolfpack. Casey Morsell added 15 points for NC State.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• The Phoenix opened the game with a 7-5 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. Mackinnon led off the game with a three-pointer before the Wolfpack responded with five straight points to hold a 5-3 lead. Sam Sherry however answered with a three-pointer at the 15:50 mark while getting fouled with the sophomore converting the free throw of the four-point play.
• NC State responded with a 12-0 run to increase its lead to 17-7 after a pair of free throws. The Phoenix came back with a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer by Watson to bring Elon within three, 17-14, before going into the under-12 media timeout.
• The Wolfpack went on an 8-1 run to take its largest lead of the half, 27-15, after a layup at the 8:24 mark by Jack Clark. Elon remained resilient and came back with a 7-2 run over the next four minutes to cut it to four, 29-25, after a Sean Halloran three-pointer. NC State finished the half strong to go back in front by double-digits, 37-27.
• NC State took a 13-point lead for its biggest of the game at that point on a three-pointer by Terquavion Smith with 17:47 left on the clock. The Wolfpack kept it a double-digit game over the next six minutes after a layup made the score 56-45 with 10:42 left to play.
• Elon then went on a 6-0 run to trim its deficit to five, 56-51, after a pair of Watson free throws and layups by Zac Ervin and Halloran with 8:34 left to force an NC State timeout.
• The Phoenix made it a five-point game three times in the final over the next three minutes of play, but would not get that close again for the remainder of the game as NC State pulled away for the 74-63 win.
 
NOTES
• Watson led the Phoenix with eight rebounds for the contest, but Elon lost the rebounding battle against the Wolfpack, 42-37. Watson added his fourth double-digit scoring performance of the season, which leads the team.
• Both Sherry and Mackinnon made their first career starts for the Phoenix against the Wolfpack. Sherry had eight points in 23 minutes while also grabbing five rebounds. Mackinnon played a team-high 39 minutes and added six rebounds and three assists to his stat line.
• Halloran had nine points and six assists for Elon in 35 minutes.
• Saturday was the first meeting between the two schools since the 2011-12 season and the 31^st overall. NC State improved to 23-8 all-time over the Phoenix in the series.
• Elon held the Wolfpack backcourt duo of Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith to 23 total points between them. Both players each came into the game averaging 20-plus points per game.
 
UP NEXT
Elon continues its two-game road swing before the Thanksgiving break to Jacksonville State on Tuesday, Nov. 22. That matchup is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff.