CHARLESTON, S.C. – Rookie Max Mackinnon's second double-double of the season and a first-half lead were not enough for the Elon University men's basketball team to pull off the road upset as the Phoenix fell 78-60 at No. 22 College of Charleston on Saturday, Jan. 14, at TD Arena.
 
Mackinnon scored 17 points and grabbed a season and game-high 13 boards for the Phoenix (2-16, 0-5 Colonial Athletic Association). Zac Ervin had 11 points while Torrence Watson contributed with 10 off the bench to round out the double-figure scorers for Elon.
 
The Cougars (18-1, 6-0 CAA) won their 17^th game in a row to extend the nation's longest winning streak. Four players scored in double figures for Charleston with Dalton Bolon scoring a game-high 21 points while Ante Brzovic had 17. Reyne Smith added 14 while Ryan Larson rounded out the top scorers for the Cougars with 12.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Both teams battled back and forth for the first six minutes of the game. The Cougars took an early 5-2 lead but four straight points from Ervin put the Phoenix in front, 6-5. Elon held a 10-8 lead on a Mackinnon jumper off the glass, but the contest would be tied at 14-all by the first media timeout with 14:02 left in the first half.
• Elon continued an ensuing 9-0 run after the timeout to take a seven-point lead. A three-pointer and a jumper by Watson put the Phoenix up 21-14 by the under-12 media timeout.
• The Phoenix extended its advantage to 23-14 on a Sam Sherry layup under the basket, but the Cougars came back to cut their deficit to one, 23-22, after a Bolon triple with 7:48 left in the first period. Elon regrouped as Mackinnon answered with a trey of his own to give the Phoenix a four-point cushion, but CofC's Raekwon Horton trimmed Elon's lead to two, 26-24, going into the under-eight media timeout.
• Charleston would tie the game at 26-all on a layup with 5:43 left in the period, but Mackinnon came back with his 11^th point of the half on a fastbreak layup to put the Phoenix back in front. The Cougars trimmed Elon's lead down to one, 28-27, after splitting a pair at the charity stripe, but the Phoenix answered with two Sherry free throws to take a three-point lead, 30-27, into the under-four media timeout.
• Elon led by as much as four, 34-30, after a pair of free throws by Sean Halloran, but CofC answered with a pair at the free throw line in the final seconds of the first half as the Phoenix carried a two-point advantage into the locker room at intermission.
• Charleston started the second half on a 14-2 run to take the lead. Bolon split a pair at the line to begin the second period before Sherry answered with a layup to put Elon up by three, 36-33. The Cougars then went on a 12-0 run to take a 10-point lead, 46-36, before the under-16 media timeout.
• Two free throws from Mackinnon pulled the Phoenix within eight, 46-38, but the Cougars swelled their lead to 14, 54-40, forcing the Phoenix to call a timeout with 11:55 left in the game.
• Elon would trim its deficit to as low as 10 points, 66-56, after two more free throws from Sherry, but that would be as close as the Phoenix would get as the Cougars continued to hold steady to take the 78-60 win.
 
NOTES
• Elon's halftime lead marked its first against a ranked opponent since Nov. 20, 2019, when the Phoenix led then-fifth-ranked North Carolina 33-32 at the break.
• Mackinnon had his first double-double since posting 24 points and 12 rebounds at High Point on Nov. 30. The Brisbane, Australia, native was 7-of-10 from the floor and also had four assists.
• Halloran had seven assists to lead the Phoenix, but saw his double-figure scoring streak snapped at 12 games after being held to just four points against the Cougars.
• Elon became the second team all season to hold a halftime lead over the Cougars this season. Kent State also led at the break during its game, 40-36, on Nov. 23.
• The Phoenix shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the opening half against Charleston, the highest percentage that the Cougars have allowed in the first period all season. That performance is also the second-best for the Phoenix this season. Overall, the maroon and gold outshot the Cougars, 44 percent to 39 percent, in the game.
• Elon was only edged by one, 38-37, in the rebounding battle, with the Phoenix holding a 31-22 advantage on the defensive glass.
 
UP NEXT
Elon continues its two-game road swing with a second matchup at UNCW on Monday, Jan. 16. That game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff from Trask Coliseum.