ELON, N.C. – Despite new career highs for freshman Max Mackinnon and sophomore Sam Sherry, the Elon University men's basketball team fell in its Piedmont Triad matchup at High Point, 84-70, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Quebin Center.
 
Mackinnon scored a game-high 24 points in the contest shooting 9-of-17 in the contest. The Brisbane, Australia, native also had a double-double with his new personal-best 12 rebounds while also dishing out three assists. Sherry nearly had a double-double himself as the Mechanicsburg, Pa., native had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Phoenix (1-7).
 
High Point (6-1) had three players score in double figures with Emmanuel Izunabor leading the team with 15 points. Abdoulaye Thiam had 14 while Jaden House added 13 for the Panthers.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Elon jumped out to a 6-3 lead to begin the game and held a 10-9 advantage by the first media timeout. Sherry scored six points for the Phoenix during the first four-plus minutes.
• High Point went on an 11-0 run to take the lead, 20-10, before a Sean Halloran layup stopped the run by the under-12 media timeout. A three-pointer by Mackinnon brought the Phoenix within five, but High Point extended its lead back to seven on a layup by Jaden House.
• The Panthers pushed their lead to 25-17, but Elon answered with baskets by Sherry and JaDun Michael to bring the Phoenix within four, 25-21, with 9:04 left in the first half. An ensuing 7-0 run by the Panthers made it a double-digit game, 32-21, forcing Elon to a timeout with 5:56 left in the first half.
• High Point took its largest lead of the half, 41-28, after a jumper by Abdoulaye Thiam at the 3:21 mark. Elon was able to cut its deficit to 10 before the first half horn, 41-31.
• The Phoenix came out of the locker room with a strong start to the second half. Elon started the period with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to a four-point game, 45-41, after Sherry was fouled on a fastbreak layup with 17:03 left in the game. Another shot by Mackinnon kept it a two-possession contest, 47-43, at the 16:28 mark before the Panthers took a 49-43 advantage into the under-16 media timeout.
• A 6-2 run after the timeout by the Panthers extended their lead back to 10, 55-45. The Phoenix three times came within eight points over the next four minutes, but could not get any closer over that stretch.
• Elon was last under single digits with 7:47 left in the game on a Halloran layup that brought the score to 65-56. The Panthers held control of the rest of the game to advance to the 84-70 victory.
 
NOTES
• Mackinnon became the first player to have a double-double for the Phoenix this season and the first since Michael Graham had one against Northeastern on Feb. 26. He also became the first freshman with a double-double since Hunter Woods had a 20-point, 15-rebound contest against William & Mary in 2020 at the CAA Tournament.
• Halloran nearly had a double-double himself as the Orlando, Fla., native had 13 points and a season-high seven assists. He also had two steals to his stat line, his fifth multi-steal game.
• Elon won the battle on the glass, 42-37, over the Panthers. It was the first game that the Phoenix had a positive rebounding margin over its opponent since outrebounding Erskine 49-32 in its season opener.
 
UP NEXT
Elon hosts another fellow Triad rival, UNCG, at Schar Center on Saturday, Dec. 3. That game is set for a 4 p.m. tipoff.