ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball dominated Hofstra, 81-55, on Thursday, Feb. 24, at the Mack Sports & Exhibition Center in Hempstead, N.Y. The Phoenix had four players score in double figures and held a season-best +29 margin on the boards.
 
THE RUNDOWN
- Elon came out of the gates strong, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead behind a Hunter McIntosh three and a Michael Graham dunk. After Hofstra battled back to take its first lead of the game (8-7) at the 15:12 mark, Andrew Junkin answered with a personal 7-0 run to put the Phoenix back on top (14-8).
- The Pride continued to fight back and took a 15-14 lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the first half. Once again, Elon answered the call, as Kris Wooten knocked down his lone bucket of the evening followed by five quick points from Darius Burford to take a 21-17 advantage.
- With the score sitting at 23-22, McIntosh began to take over down the stretch of the opening half. In the final six minutes before the break, the junior out of Snellville, Ga. poured in 15 points, including nine from three-point range, to extend the Elon lead to 43-29. Burford also added five points during the stretch, with his layup at the 3:57 mark sparking the late 9-0 Elon run.
- The Phoenix entered the break leading 43-31.
- Elon continued to assert itself early in the second half, with Burford scoring on three-straight possessions to ignite a 13-0 Phoenix burst. Following two free throws from Junkin and a strong finish by Zac Ervin at the rim, Chuck Hannah drilled a corner three to put Elon ahead 56-31 with 12:48 remaining. Elon held Hofstra scoreless for the first eight minutes of the second half, en route to building up the 25-point advantage prior to the Pride scoring.
- With the Phoenix leading 70-48 with 5:37 remaining, back-to-back scores from Michael Graham followed by a driving layup for Burford extended the advantage to 77-48. Sam Sherry culminated the late run with his turn-around score at the 2:43 mark. Sherry would add one more bucket in the closing minute to cap an 81-55 win for Elon.
 
NOTES
- Darius Burford led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Burford has now scored at least 20 points in consecutive games and in seven contests overall this season. The sophomore's two takeaways tonight also marked the 12^th game this year that he has recorded at least two steals.
- Hunter McIntosh chipped in 18 points, four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. It was the 14^th 15+ point performance for McIntosh this season and marked his 53^rd 10+ point outing in his Elon career.
- Andrew Junkin continued his strong play of late, finishing with career-highs in points (16), rebounds (10), free throws (6), field goals (5) and minutes (23). The performance marked both the first double-double and the first 10+ point effort of Junkin's career.
- Michael Graham added 12 points and eight rebounds in just 11 minutes of action. It was the 15^th career double-digit scoring outing for Graham and his first since dropping 15 points in a win over UNCW on Feb. 3.
- Elon allowed a season-low in field goal percentage in the game, holding Hofstra to just 18-of-61 (29.5%) shooting from the floor.
- The Phoenix set new season-highs in total rebounds (55) and rebound margin (+29), while limiting Hofstra to the lowest mark for an opponent this season with 26. Elon's 55 boards tonight were also the most for the program since grabbing 55 against Milligan on Nov. 8, 2019.
- Elon held an edge in points in the paint (38-16), second chance points (16-4) and bench points (25-20).
- The Phoenix led by as much as 31 in the contest and for a total of 38:19 of a possible 40 minutes.

UP NEXT
Elon rounds out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 26, when it travels to Boston, Mass. for a matchup with Northeastern. That contest is slated for a 12 p.m. tip and will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.