WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Elon University men's basketball team was handed a 73-60 setback at William & Mary on Thursday night, Feb. 23, at Kaplan Arena to conclude its two-game road swing.
 
Elon (8-22, 6-11 Colonial Athletic Association) was led by Max Mackinnon, who posted a game-high 18 points for the Phoenix. The Brisbane, Australia, native was 7-of-9 from the floor with five rebounds and tied a season-high with four steals. Jerald Gillens-Butler added 12 for Elon while Sean Halloran rounded out the Phoenix's double-digit scorers with 10.
 
William & Mary (11-19, 6-11 CAA) had four players score in double figures with Ben Wight pacing the squad with 17 points. Miguel Ayesa added 15 points off the bench, going 5-of-11 from three-point range. Anders Nelson had 12 and Matteus Case posted 10 for the Tribe.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• The Phoenix opened the game on a 4-0 advantage on a Sam Sherry dunk and a layup from Mackinnon. The Tribe came back with a pair of buckets of their own before a Halloran three-point play gave the Phoenix the lead into the first media timeout.
• After the game was tied at 7-7, Elon moved ahead 13-10 on a couple of baskets by Gillens-Butler and Mackinnon. William & Mary went on an 8-0 run to take a 18-13 advantage heading into the under-12 media timeout.
• The Tribe expanded their run to 15-4 to take an eight-point lead, 25-17, after a three-pointer by Chris Mullins. Gillens-Butler cut the Phoenix's deficit to six, but William & Mary answered with another three to take a 28-19 lead into the under-eight media timeout.
• Another three by Ayesa gave the Tribe their largest lead of the game at that point, 31-19, with 6:42 left in the opening period. An Elon 6-0 run brought the Phoenix within six, 31-25, before the final media timeout of the first half.
• Elon brought its deficit down to as low as five points after a Zac Ervin three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the first half. Ayesa came back with his fourth three-pointer of the period at the buzzer to help the Tribe go into the locker room with a 38-30 lead.
• A John Bowen III dunk and a three-pointer by Halloran brought the Phoenix within five to start the second period, 40-35. William & Mary came back with a 9-4 to go up by 10, 49-39, after a Ben Wight layup with 15:28 left in the second half.
• Two jumpers by Mackinnon pulled Elon within six, 49-43, with 13:36 left in the game. Both teams went into a scoring drought for the next three minutes until William & Mary's Nelson hit a pair of jumpers to give the Tribe a double-digit cushion again, 53-43.
• Both teams traded a pair of free throws before Mackinnon hit a three-pointer at the 8:13 mark to make the score 55-48. Wight hit a pair of free throws on the other end for the Tribe, but Ervin came back with second triple of the night followed by a Gillens-Butler jumper to cut it down to a four-point game, 57-53.
• The Tribe's Ayesa hit another three-pointer to put William & Mary ahead by seven, 60-53, causing the Phoenix to call a timeout with 3:48 left in the game. Mackinnon brought the Phoenix back within five, 60-55, on a basket after the timeout.
• William & Mary however kept its lead down the stretch with Elon unable to pull any closer as the Phoenix fell to the Tribe, 73-60.
 
NOTES
• Mackinnon added his 17^th double-digit scoring performance of the season and his ninth out of his past 11 games. His four steals match his season-high that he had versus Towson on Jan. 21.
• Halloran had one steal in the contest, sitting just one shy of tying Scottie Rice's Division I program-record of 56 that was set in 2002-03.
• Elon won the rebound battle, 31-30, over the Tribe. It was the second straight game that the Phoenix has outrebounded its opponent and the fourth time out of its past six games.
• The Phoenix also dominated in the paint, 36-24, over the Tribe and had a 12-8 margin in second-chance points. William & Mary took advantage of the 17 Elon turnovers, scoring 22 points off the Phoenix miscues.
• The maroon and gold shot 46.2 percent from the floor, but was only 4-of-21 from three-point range.
 
UP NEXT
Elon closes out its regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25, versus Delaware at Schar Center at 7 p.m. The program will also host Senior Night and honor its five-person senior/graduate class of Bowen III, Gillens-Butler, Halloran, Andrew Junkin and Torrence Watson with ceremonies scheduled at 6:30 p.m.