ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team held off a furious second-half rally to earn a 79-76 win over ETSU in its home opener on Thursday night, Nov. 9 at Schar Center.
 
The Phoenix (1-1) snapped an overall four-game losing versus the Buccaneers (1-1), moving its all-time series record to 4-2 in favor of ETSU. Max Mackinnon led three players in double figures for Elon with 17 points while adding seven rebounds, which also led the team. LA Pratt scored a career-high 14 points while Deandre Smart added 11 to help the Phoenix bench outscore ETSU's 36-4.
 
The Buccaneers' Quimari Peterson had a game-high 31 points while going 13-of-24 from the floor. Jaden Seymour had 21 points with seven rebounds, but outside of those two, Elon held the rest of ETSU to 24 points and 10-of-33 from the field.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• The Buccaneers opened with a 12-2 lead within the first four minutes of the contest after a three-pointer by Seymour with 15:41 left in the first half. After Mackinnon answered with a three-pointer of his own, Peterson added a jumper to put ETSU ahead by nine, 14-5.
• Elon came back with a 10-0 run to take its first lead over the next three minutes. Pratt hit a pair of triples during the stretch to start the run before a jumper by Mackinnon gave the Phoenix a 15-14 lead with 11:53 left in the opening period.
• ETSU was able to push its lead to six a couple of times in response with a three-pointer by Ebby Asamoah giving the Buccaneers a 26-20 cushion with 8:20 left before halftime. Elon came right back with a couple of plays to trim it to a one-point lead on a Sam Sherry three-pointer and a layup by TK Simpkins that brought the Phoenix within 26-25.
• Peterson made a layup to put ETSU back up by three, but Elon erased that deficit by ending the first half on a 14-0 run. Elon retook the lead on a JaDun Michael dunk at the 4:15 mark and went into the locker room with a 39-28 advantage after a Pratt corner three before the horn.
• Elon extended its lead to 22 points (60-38) at the halfway point of the second half after a free throw by Kendall Campbell. The Buccaneers were able to make it a single-digit contest with a 19-6 run capped off by a Seymour dunk with 5:31 left in the game.
• The Phoenix kept its distance and regained a double-digit lead on a driving layup by Rob Higgins with just under three minutes left in the contest. ETSU however would not go away as a 10-2 run over the next two-plus minutes made it a one-possession game after a Peterson three with 29 seconds left made the score 74-71.
• Elon was able to hit some free throws down the stretch to keep its advantage, but saw its advantage trimmed to two, 78-76, on another Peterson triple with nine seconds left. Simpkins was able to split a pair of free throws with two seconds left before making a steal on the ball on the Buccaneers' final possession to clinch the Phoenix's three-point win.
 
NOTES
• Elon's last win over ETSU came back during the 2004-05 campaign when the two teams were members of the Southern Conference.
• The Phoenix shot 50.8 percent overall from the floor (30-59) while also going 9-of-19 from deep. Elon also won the battle of the boards, 38-33.
• Sherry made his season-debut for the Phoenix in the contest. The junior played 13 minutes and scored five points with a pair of blocked shots.
• Simpkins made his first start for the Phoenix. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored eight points with four rebounds and four steals in 26 minutes.
• Mackinnon's three three-pointers match his career-best as the Brisbane, Australia, native was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
• Pratt's career scoring game included him going 4-of-6 from downtown while also tying Mackinnon in the team-lead in assists with three.
• The win improves the Phoenix's ledger to 5-1 in its home openers at Schar Center.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix travels to North Dakota for its next contest this Sunday, Nov. 12 versus the Fighting Hawks. Tip-off time is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.