BOSTON – A go-ahead basket scored by Jerald Gillens-Butler with nine seconds left along with a block at the buzzer by Sam Sherry helped the Elon University men's basketball team escape with a 74-73 victory at Northeastern on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4, at Matthews Arena.
 
Gillens-Butler scored the last five points for Elon (5-19, 3-8 Colonial Athletic Association) and was one of three players in double figures for the Phoenix with his 18 points. Max Mackinnon led the Phoenix with 20 points and a career-high eight assists while Sean Halloran added 12.
 
Northeastern's Chris Doherty had a game-high 22 points while Jahmyl Telfort added 20 points. Coleman Stucke contributed with 16 for the Huskies (8-14, 4-7 CAA).
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Both teams traded baskets in the first four minutes of the contest. Elon held an 8-6 lead after a Torrence Watson layup going into the under-16-minute media timeout.
• A jump shot by Halloran gave Elon a 10-6 advantage before the Huskies tied the contest at 10-all after a jumper and a pair of free throws. Gillens-Butler was able to convert on a fastbreak layup to give the Phoenix a 12-10 advantage, but a Northeastern three-pointer from Jared Turner gave the Huskies the lead going into the under-12 media timeout.
• The Huskies expanded their lead to 15-12 on a jumper by Doherty, but Elon scored five straight points on a Sherry three and a layup by LA Pratt to move back in front 17-15. Another Doherty basket tied the contest once again with both teams deadlocked at 17-all with eight minutes left in the first half.
• Elon responded with a 13-2 run to retake the lead. The Phoenix scored seven unanswered points to move up 24-17 before the Huskies stopped that run with a jumper. The maroon and gold continued to be undaunted and went on a 6-0 run capped by a Pratt layup after a Northeastern turnover to put Elon ahead 30-19 and force a Huskies' timeout.
• Northeastern cut the Phoenix's lead down to six, 32-26, after another three-pointer from Turner with 2:13 left in the opening stanza. The Phoenix freshmen duo of Pratt and Mackinnon however closed out the period with a 7-2 run to help Elon go into the locker with a 39-28 advantage.
• Elon opened the second half with a three-pointer by Gillens-Butler to put the Phoenix up 14, 42-28. Northeastern battled back with an 11-2 run to make it a five-point game, 44-39 with 16:08 left in the game.
• The Phoenix was able to push its lead to eight, 52-44, after a Mackinnon three-pointer with 14:25 left in the period. Northeastern came back with a 12-1 run to take the lead, 56-53, after a Stucke three-pointer at the 10:54 mark.
• The Huskies took a four-point advantage, 59-55, after another three-pointer by Stucke, but Elon answered to tie the game again with a pair of buckets. Mackinnon contributed on both with a jumper in the lane and an assist to Sherry to knot the game at 59-all.
• After the Huskies took a 61-59 lead, the maroon and gold came back to take the lead. Mackinnon tied the contest on a layup before a pair of Halloran free throws gave Elon a 63-61 advantage with 5:31 left in the second half. It was the Phoenix's first lead since the 12:16 mark.
• Telfort went on a mini 5-0 run to put the Huskies back in front, 66-63. Halloran and Doherty traded a pair of free throws to keep the Huskies ahead by three, 68-65, before Mackinnon brought the Phoenix within one, 68-67, on a jumper with 2:02 left in the game.
• A three-pointer by Glen McClintock gave Northeastern a four-point lead, 71-67, with 1:39 left in the game. Elon put it back to a one-possession game after Mackinnon found Sherry for a layup on the next possession.
• Elon forced a stop on the Huskies' next trip down the floor and looked to either tie the game or take the lead. Halloran however missed the potential go-ahead three-pointer with 44 seconds left with the Huskies gaining possession on the rebound and forcing the Phoenix to foul.
• McClintock made two more free throws to put Northeastern back up by four, 73-69. After a missed three-point attempt by the Phoenix went out of bounds, the Huskies were fouled again with a chance to ice the game at the free throw line with 21 seconds remaining.
• Northeastern missed the front end of a one-and-one and Gillens-Butler quickly brought Elon within one with a three-pointer in transition the other way with 16 seconds left. After Elon called a timeout to set up its defense, the Phoenix forced the much-needed turnover to regain possession down one with 14 seconds left.
• That set the stage for Gillens-Butler as the Orlando, Fla., native sized up his defender and was able to drive past the defense and scored on a layup with nine seconds left. Northeastern quickly inbounded the ball and called timeout once they got across midcourt with only three seconds left.
• Elon's defense held strong on the Huskies' final possession as Stucke drove into the lane, but was met by Sherry who was able to block the shot and corral the rebound as the Phoenix escaped with the 74-73 win.
 
NOTES
• Elon earned its third straight win overall, its longest win streak since reeling off seven in a row near the end of the 2020-21 season. It was also the third straight victory for the Phoenix in its series over the Huskies.
• Mackinnon was 9-of-12 from the floor for his third 20-point game of the year and his 12^th double-digit scoring performance of the season. The Brisbane, Australia, native is averaging 5.5 assists in his past four games.
• Gillens-Butler was one point shy of tying his career-high as the redshirt senior was 7-of-14 from the field and tied a career-high with three triples. He has scored in double figures in four of the past five games with three of those being Elon victories.
• The Phoenix held the edge over the Huskies in points off turnovers (19-16), points in the paint (40-26), second chance points (7-2), fastbreak points (13-4) and points off the bench (11-6).
• Watson led the Phoenix with eight rebounds off the bench in 29 minutes played.
 
UP NEXT
Elon closes out its road swing with a midweek contest versus Piedmont Triad rival North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, Feb. 8. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.