ELON N.C.– Elon University men's basketball fell to Charleston in a battle, 66-64, on Saturday, Feb. 5, at Schar Center.
 
"To lead like that until the end, tonight was a tough loss," head coach Mike Schrage opened. "I thought the first half we were definitely the tougher and more together team – really building on Thursday. I can't say the same for the second half. But I love our group and believe in them. It hurts right now, but it all has to become part of our make-up as we try to play our best basketball in February and March."
 
THE RUNDOWN
- The Phoenix came out of the gates firing, jumping out to an early 8-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the contest. Darius Burford opened the scoring before a Hunter McIntosh bucket put Elon on top 4-0. On the next trip down the court, McIntosh found a rolling Michael Graham for a thunderous two-handed dunk over a defender. Moments later, Burford capped the run with his layup at the 16:50 mark to extend Elon's early advantage.
- After Charleston cut the Phoenix lead down to three with just over 12 minutes before halftime, Elon answered with a 6-0 run to go up by nine. Graham keyed the spurt, scoring on back-to-back possessions to give Elon a seven-point edge. After a Burford steal saw the Phoenix in transition, Hunter Woods scored his first points of the day to extend the lead to 18-9.
- The Cougars fought back, using a 9-0 run midway through the first half to even the score at 20. Elon again responded, going on an 8-0 run, sparked by a three pointer from Burford. McIntosh closed the burst for Elon, scoring five straight points to extend the lead to 28-20.
- The Phoenix defense kept the Cougars at bay in the final three minutes of the first half, as Elon entered the break leading 31-24.
- With the score sitting at 32-26 early in the second half, Elon went on a quick 5-0 run to take its largest lead of the night (11). Zac Ervin's layup at the 16:44 mark got things going before a triple from McIntosh pushed the Phoenix advantage to 37-26.
- Charleston chipped away at the Elon lead with an 8-0 run to bring it back within three. Kris Wooten halted the Cougars run with his three with 12:33 remaining in the contest. After Charleston cut its deficit back down to three, a 9-2 Phoenix run sparked by a Chuck Hannah layup put Elon back up by 10. McIntosh was the catalyst for the burst, draining two triples to help give the Phoenix a 54-44 advantage with less than eight minutes remaining.
- After a 9-2 Charleston run tied the game at 60, the Cougars took its first lead of the game with 57 seconds left. Elon answered, as clutch shooting from the charity stripe by McIntosh and Burford kept the game tied at 64 in the final moments. Charleston scored on its last possession to win the game, 66-64.
 
NOTES
- Hunter McIntosh led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping 20 points, five rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes. The performance marked the 15^th double-digit scoring output for the junior this year and was his third 20+ point game this season. McIntosh now stands just seven points shy of 1,000, as the Snellville, Ga. native has scored 993 points to this point in his Elon career.
- Darius Burford added 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes of action. The sophomore has scored at least 10 points in 15 games this season and in 22 contests in his collegiate career.
- Michael Graham finished the night with eight points and two rebounds, while Kris Wooten added seven points, two rebounds and two assists.
- Zac Ervin and Hunter Woods combined for 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in the loss.
- The Phoenix held Charleston to a season-low 13 percent (3-of-23) mark from three-point range.

UP NEXT
Elon returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 10, when it travels to Harrisonburg, Va. for a matchup with James Madison. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip and will be streamed live on FloSports.