ELON N.C.– Elon University men's basketball started February off with a bang, taking down the CAA-leading UNCW Seahawks, 78-65, in front of a lively Schar Center crowd on Thursday, Feb. 3. The win moved the Phoenix to 4-1 at home in CAA play and 7-3 overall on its home court this season. The victory also snapped UNCW's program record 12-game winning streak and was its first loss of conference play (9-1).
 
"Just proud of the guys," head coach Mike Schrage opened. "Definitely want to salute Wilmington – what they've been doing is pretty incredible. They have such a talented and dangerous team. But, I was really proud of our guys. We talked about kind of that ground and pound mentality which is something they hadn't really heard from me before. We decided to kind of play bigger tonight and kind of take advantage of when they switch. They really make you make plays, you can't just shoot threes and we had 44 points in the paint tonight. That was kind of our game plan and I'm glad we were able to execute it. I also thought our defense was where it needed to be tonight."
 
THE RUNDOWN
- The game opened as a defensive battle, with neither side scoring its first points until the 17:13 mark when UNCW scored on a fast break to take a 2-0 lead. After a strong finish from Darius Burford knotted the game up at 2-2, the Seahawks answered with a 9-2 run to take an early 11-4 advantage. Elon battled back on the strength of a 10-4 spurt that brought the team back within one. Zac Ervin keyed the burst, scoring eight straight points, including two threes, before Burford capped the run with another tough finish at the rim to bring the score to 13-12 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
- Trailing by three at the 8:56 mark of the first half, the Phoenix used a 9-2 spurt to take its first lead of the game. Hunter McIntosh's first bucket of the day got things going, before a Chuck Hannah free throw tied the game at 15. After four quick points from Michael Graham gave Elon a 19-17 lead, another score by Burford extended the advantage to 21-17 with five minutes to play before halftime.
- The two sides traded scores down the stretch of the opening half and entered the break tied 31-31.
- Elon jumped out to an early 35-31 lead in the opening minute of the second half, but a 14-6 run by UNCW put the Seahawks back on top 45-41. With just under 15 minutes left to play, Elon used a 12-0 run to take control of the contest. Four points from Graham opened the spurt, before back-to-back scores from Burford gave the Phoenix a four-point lead. After a one-handed dunk from Sam Sherry extended the lead to six, Burford's jumper at the 8:29 mark capped the run and put Elon up 53-45.
- With Elon leading by three with 5:30 remaining in the contest, McIntosh took over, scoring 13 points down the stretch to seal the game. After scoring five points to help Elon build a 65-58 lead, McIntosh added five more points between the 2:12 and 1:18 minute mark to push the advantage backup to 10. Burford's steal and slam with 15 seconds remaining capped a 78-65 win for the Phoenix.
 
NOTES
- Darius Burford led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping a career-high 27 points, adding five rebounds, four steals and three assists. The sophomore also set a new career-high with 13 field goals, shooting a staggering 13-of-17 from the floor in the win. Burford's four steals matched a career-high, is his second consecutive game with four takeaways and marked the 11^th game this season he's had at least two steals. The Bolingbrook, Ill. native has now scored at least 20 points in back-to-back contests and in four games this year.
- Hunter McIntosh ended the night with 17 points, four assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes of action. McIntosh took over for Elon down the stretch, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half, including 13 points in the final six minutes. The performance marked the 14^th double-digit scoring output for the junior this year and the 47^th in his career.
- Michael Graham continued his strong play, posting his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. Graham's performance marked his team-leading 14^th double-figure scoring output and was his tenth 10+ point game in his last 11 outings. Through ten CAA contests this season, Graham has upped his averages to 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
- Zac Ervin chipped in eight points and three rebounds in 24 minutes, while freshman Sam Sherry finished with six points and one rebounds in 12 minutes. Sherry's six points were his most since scoring a season-high nine points against Randolph earlier this season.
- The Phoenix held UNCW to just 34.5 percent (20-of-58) shooting from the floor and 30.0 percent (9-of-30) shooting from three. When holding opponents to less than 40.0 percent shooting from the field, Elon is now 6-1 this season and 3-0 in CAA play.
- Elon held advantages in points in the paint (44-16), bench points (16-6), points off turnovers (12-11) and total rebounds (34-26). 
- The Phoenix shot a season-best 59.6 percent (28-of-47) from the field, while attempting a season-low 10 three pointers.
 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 5, when it hosts Charleston at Schar Center. That contest is slated for a 4 p.m. tip and will be streamed live on FloSports.