ELON, N.C. – A second-half rally sparked by a career night senior Sam Sherry helped the Elon University men's basketball team to a 73-69 victory over its Piedmont Triad rival UNCG on Saturday night, Dec. 21, at Schar Center.
 
Sherry led three Phoenix (8-4) in double figures with career-highs in points (28) and rebounds (14) to achieve his second double-double of the season. TJ Simpkins added 14 points while Nick Dorn contributed with 13 as the Phoenix continued to stay unbeaten at Schar Center with a 4-0 ledger this season.
 
Kenyon Giles had 24 points for the Spartans (6-6) with Ronald Polite III adding 17 points off the bench.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• UNCG opened the game with a 9-8 lead after the first four minutes of the game. The Spartans were up 7-3, but the Phoenix rallied with a 5-2 run to trail by one going into the under-16 media timeout.
• The Phoenix went on an 8-2 run after the timeout to go ahead 16-11 after a pair of free throws by Simpkins. Elon would hold a 20-14 lead after a putback layup from Brayden Crump with 10:36 left in the half.
• Elon continued its work on the offensive glass as a putback from Kendall Campbell gave the Phoenix a 24-19 advantage with 8:36 left in the first period. The Spartans however responded with a 12-1 run to retake the lead, 31-25, going into the final media timeout before halftime. UNCG continued its momentum, closing out the first half on a 13-5 run to take a 44-30 lead into the locker room.
•  The Spartans led by as much as 12 to start the second half, 46-34, after a Giles jumper in the paint. Elon trimmed its deficit to seven, 46-39, after five points scored between Sherry and Matthew Van Komen. UNCG pushed it back to a double-digit lead, 49-39, after Ronald Polite III split a pair at the line.
• The Phoenix rallied to make it a five-point, 49-44. Elon forced a pair of turnovers, converting those into a pair of dunks by Simpkins and Harrell. A free throw by Simpkins pulled the hosts within five with 14:19 left to play.
• Both teams traded points over the next three minutes before a three-pointer by Donovan Atwell put the Spartans ahead 56-48 with just over 11 minutes left to play. The Phoenix then went on a 17-0 run for the next six minutes to retake the lead, 65-56, after Sherry converted a and-one play with 4:46 remaining in the contest. Sherry and Brayden Crump were the main catalysts during the run, scoring seven and four points, respectively, including a putback layup from Crump that gave Elon its first lead since the eight-minute mark in the first half.
• UNCG countered with an 11-0 run of its own to go ahead by two, 67-65, after a jumper from Akrum Ahemed. A Dorn three-pointer pushed the Phoenix back in front, 68-67, with 2:07 left to play, but the Spartans answered on a layup from Giles to take a 69-68 advantage.
• That however would be the final point tally that the Spartans would score for the remainder of the game as the Phoenix increased its defensive pressure down the stretch. Elon also struggled to find the go-ahead basket, missing on three attempts as the clock ticked to 41 seconds as the Phoenix called a timeout after Crump recovered possession on a jump ball.
• Elon went to Sherry in the post after the timeout, as the forward was able to convert on a jump hook in the paint to give the Phoenix the lead for good. After the Elon defense forced a missed three from Giles on the other end, Sherry made three out of four three throws in the final seconds to put the game away.
 
NOTES
• Elon's 14-point, second-half comeback is its largest since overcoming an 11-point deficit (40-29) at Northeastern on January 30, 2016.
• The Phoenix's win snapped its six-game losing streak to the Spartans. It is the first victory for the maroon and gold against its former SoCon opponent since Dec. 19, 2015.
• Elon outscored the Spartans 43-25 in the second half and outrebounded UNCG 47-27 overall. The Phoenix nearly had as many offensive rebounds (24) as the Spartans had total rebounds.
• TJ Simpkins made his first start of the season in place of his brother TK. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native added five rebounds and a team-high four assists in the game.
• Crump scored seven points with six rebounds while playing a season-high 25 minutes off the bench.
• Elon dominated in points in the paint, 36-28, while scoring 24 points off second-chance opportunities compared to five for UNCG.
 
UP NEXT
Elon will be idle for the holiday break before hosting Marshall in its final nonconference game on Saturday, Dec. 28. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and will stream on FloCollege.