ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team led by as many as 14 and forced 16 turnovers, but North Carolina A&T was able to rally in the second half to pull away with an 80-71 victory over the Phoenix in a Colonial Athletic Association contest on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at Schar Center.
 
Torrence Watson led the Phoenix (2-15, 0-4 CAA) with 15 points off the bench while tying his career-high with nine rebounds. Four other players also joined him in double figures with Zac Ervin and Max Mackinnon adding 13 points, Sam Sherry contributing 11 and Sean Halloran scoring 10.
 
Marcus Watson had a game-high 20 points to lead North Carolina A&T (7-11, 2-3 CAA) while grabbing eight rebounds. Duncan Powell added 14 points and nine rebounds off the pine for the Aggies while Kam Woods contributed with 13 points and five assists.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Elon jumped out to a 7-2 lead within the first two minutes of the contest, but the Aggies clawed back to make it a two-point lead for the maroon and gold by the first media timeout with 15:36 left in the first period.
• North Carolina A&T tied the contest at nine-all, but an ensuing 11-1 run by the Phoenix gave the maroon and gold a 10-point advantage. The Phoenix knocked down three triples during that stretch including one by LA Pratt that made the score 20-10 at the 11:36 mark.
• The Aggies made it a seven-point game, 22-15, after a Woods three-pointer at the 9:06 mark, but the Phoenix expanded its lead back to 10 after a trey from Watson and a steal and layup from Mackinnon that forced an A&T timeout with Elon up 27-17.
• Another Watson three-pointer gave the Phoenix its largest lead of the half, 35-21, with 5:50 left in the opening period. A four-point play converted by Woods brought the Aggies within 10, 35-25, but Elon went in front by 13, 40-27, on a corner jumper from Ervin with 3:49 left in the period.
• The Aggies battled to pull within single digits on a three and a layup, giving the Phoenix an eight-point margin, 40-32, with 2:16 left in the half. Elon made six free throws down the stretch to have a 10-point lead with 31 seconds remaining, but N.C. A&T made a last-second three-pointer before the first-half buzzer to go to the locker room down seven, 46-39.
• Elon opened the second half with a three from Ervin to put the Phoenix back up by 10. Both teams traded baskets for a stretch before a free throw by Sherry put the Phoenix up seven, 54-47, before the under-16 media timeout.
• North Carolina A&T proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 56-54, after the timeout. Marcus Watson scored two baskets in that stretch including the go-ahead layup with 13:28 left in the half to force a Phoenix timeout.
• Elon tied the game at 56-all on a jumper in the lane by Ervin, but the Aggies' Love Bettis made a contested three with the shot clock running down to put A&T back in front with 12:30 left in the contest.
• The Phoenix went into a scoring drought for the next three minutes as A&T increased its lead to five, 61-56. Mackinnon broke the Phoenix stalemate with a layup to trim Elon's deficit to three, but the Aggies regathered to push their lead back to five, 65-60, going into the under-eight media timeout.
• A 5-0 run by the Phoenix tied the game at 65-all. A Sherry layup and a three-pointer by Ervin helped level the game. Both teams traded buckets on the next two possessions, but the Aggies went on an 8-0 run to take a 75-67 advantage with 2:05 left in the game.
• Not to be deterred, Elon battled to cut its deficit to four, 75-71, on baskets by Halloran and Mackinnon with 49 seconds left. N.C. A&T however drew a flagrant foul with 28 seconds on the clock that gave the Aggies a pair of free throws and the ball. The Aggies were able to pull away at the free throw line for the remainder of the game to earn the 80-71 victory.
 
NOTES
• The Phoenix shot well in the opening half at 45.2 percent (14-of-31) with its 14 made field goals being its third-highest total in the first period all season. Elon was also 7-of-15 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes and 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.
• Despite being Piedmont Triad rivals, this was the first meeting between the Phoenix and the Aggies since November 2001. N.C. A&T improved its all-time series lead to 10-4 over Elon while leveling the matchup to 2-2 in contests during the Phoenix's Division I era.
• After missing the last game versus UNCW, Mackinnon played 24 minutes and added five rebounds and a steal to his stat line.
• Halloran led the Phoenix with five assists and also had three steals in the contest – his ninth game with at least three or more thefts.
• Jerald Gillens-Butler made his first start of the season for the Phoenix. The Orlando, Fla., native played a season-high 26 minutes and had four points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Elon held Woods five points below his season average. The sophomore guard came into the game averaging 18.6 points per game, which was third in the CAA.
• North Carolina A&T won the battle of the boards, 49-34, including a 16-10 mark on the offensive glass. Austin Johnson nearly had a double-double for the Aggies with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix travels to No. 22 College of Charleston on Saturday, Jan. 14. That game is set for a 4 p.m. start time at TD Arena.