ELON, N.C. – Clutch play down the stretch from freshman Max Mackinnon helped the Elon University men's basketball team hold off Hampton as the Phoenix took a 70-68 victory over the Pirates on Monday night, Feb. 13, at Schar Center.
 
Mackinnon scored the Phoenix's last five points with under 40 seconds left in the game including the two go-ahead free throws with four seconds left en route to a game-high 18 points for Elon (7-20, 5-9 Colonial Athletic Association), who has won five out of its last six games. Jerald Gillens-Butler added 14 off the bench while Sean Halloran contributed with 10.
 
Hampton (6-21, 3-11 CAA) was led by the duo of Marquis Godwin and Jordan Nesbitt, who both had 15 points. Russell Dean had 12 while Daniel Banister scored 11 off the pine for the Pirates.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Both teams traded punches back and forth until the first media timeout. A pair of layups by Halloran and Mackinnon made the score 10-10 before the Pirates went on a 6-0 run to move ahead 16-10 with 13:37 left in the first half.
• The Phoenix battled back to make it a one-point game, 16-15, behind a LA Pratt three-pointer and a layup. Hampton knocked down a pair of free throws to give itself a three-point advantage, but an offensive putback by Sam Sherry and a layup off a steal by Pratt gave the Phoenix a 19-18 lead.
• After Hampton tied the game at 19-all after splitting a pair at the line, the Phoenix went on a 9-2 run capped by a pair of Mackinnon buckets to force a Pirates' timeout with the Phoenix ahead 28-21. Elon would be up by seven, 30-23, again after a pair of Zac Ervin free throws, but Hampton's Quinton Livingston cut the Pirates' deficit to five on a jumper with 4:48 left in the opening stanza.
• Mackinnon responded with a three-pointer at the 4:32 mark in the first period to give the maroon and gold its largest lead of the half at that point, 33-25. Hampton came back to cut that lead in half with a dunk and a layup to make the score 33-29 going into the under-four media timeout.
• Elon closed out the opening half on the 9-2 run to head into the locker with a double-digit lead. Gillens-Butler scored six points during that stretch including three free throws just before the buzzer.
• The Phoenix carried its momentum from the end of the first half into the start of the second. Elon opened the second period with a 9-3 run and forced a Hampton timeout after a Torrence Watson layup put the Phoenix ahead by 17, 51-34, with 17:07 left in the game.
• Mackinnon kept the Phoenix's lead at 17, 53-36, on a driving layup at the 15:54 mark, but Hampton battled back to trim its deficit back to single digits. An 11-0 run was the main driving force for the Pirates, who only trailed by six, 53-47, after a Kyrese Mullen three-pointer.
• Elon was able to regroup and push its lead back to double-digits, 59-49, on a triple by Gillens-Butler with 10:32 left in the game. Hampton responded with back-to-back threes to pull itself back within four, 59-55, before another basket by Gillens-Butler gave the Phoenix a six-point cushion going into the under-eight media timeout.
• Halloran knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Phoenix up by eight, 63-55, but Hampton regrouped with an 11-0 run to take the lead, 66-63, with 4:21 remaining after a pair of Banister free throws.
• Both teams went into a scoring drought for nearly three minutes as Elon looked to tie or keep it a one-possession game. The Phoenix finally broke through on a layup from Halloran to bring the Phoenix within one, 66-65, with 1:32 remaining.
• The Phoenix defense held strong and forced the Pirates into a tough shot on the other end, regaining possession and calling timeout with 50 seconds left. Elon eventually took the ball out of bounds near its own basket, where Halloran found Mackinnon wide open at the three-point line with the rookie burying the straight-on triple to put the Phoenix ahead by one with 36 seconds remaining.
• Hampton was able to tie the game at the other end as Dean scored on a layup in the lane to tie the contest at 68-all with 11 seconds left. After the Phoenix crossed halfcourt, Elon called timeout to set up for its final possession.
• Mackinnon's number was called and as the Brisbane, Australia, native made his move to the basket, he was fouled by Dean, putting the rookie at the charity stripe. Mackinnon calmly swished both free throws to give Elon the lead with four seconds left.
• Hampton's Dean raced down the court and took a contested three-pointer, but his attempt fell short to give Elon the 70-68 victory.
 
NOTES
• After being named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the third time this season earlier in the day, Mackinnon continued his strong play with his sixth straight double-digit scoring performance. He is averaging 16.7 points per game during that stretch and shooting 53.9 percent (41-of-76) from the floor as Elon has won five of those six games.
• Gillens-Butler made his first appearance after missing the previous two games due to injury. The Orlando, Fla., native added his fourth straight scoring contest with the Phoenix going 4-0 in those games.
• Halloran had seven assists for the Phoenix and his 21^st double-digit scoring outing for the maroon and gold this season, a team-high.
• Pratt provided a spark off the bench for the Phoenix, scoring a season-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. His play along with Gillens-Butler helped Elon to a 23-13 bench advantage over Hampton.
• Elon was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line, its first game of the season shooting perfect from the charity stripe.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix closes out its homestand with a contest versus CAA co-leader College of Charleston on Thursday, Feb. 16. That game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff time.