GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team held off a furious second-half rally by North Carolina A&T to escape with a 69-65 victory over the Aggies on Saturday evening, Feb. 3, at Corbett Sports Center.
 
Elon (10-13, 3-7 CAA) earned its second straight win on the road after previously starting the season winless away from home in true road games. The Phoenix also swept the season series from its fellow Piedmont Triad rival.
 
Zac Ervin was the leading scorer for the Phoenix, scoring 12 points in the contest while going a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range. Max Mackinnon and Sam Sherry added 10 points for Elon, who saw eight of its nine players appear in the scoring column, including seven with at least eight or more points.
 
North Carolina A&T (7-16, 5-5 CAA) saw the duo of Jalal McKie and Camian Shell combine for 45 points with McKie leading the way with 23 points. Shell added 22 points with seven assists for the Aggies.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Elon started the game with a 7-2 lead and pushed its advantage to 10-4 after an Isaac Harrell three-pointer with 16:31 left in the opening half. The Aggies responded with a three-pointer to cut their deficit to three, 10-7.
• N.C. A&T cut the Phoenix's lead to two, 12-10, on another three-pointer from McKie. Elon answered with a pair of baskets by Sherry and Rob Higgins to put the Phoenix up six, 16-10.
• The Aggies' Shell hit a three to make it a three-point game, 16-13, with 11:44 left in the first half. A short 5-0 run by Elon pushed its lead to eight, 21-13, but N.C. A&T battled back to make it a four-point contest, 23-19.
• Elon however closed out the opening period on a 19-7 run including three triples from Ervin during that stretch. That gave the Phoenix a 42-26 advantage as both teams went into the locker room at the break.
• In the second half, Elon took its largest lead of the game, 50-31, on a three-pointer by Nick Dorn with 16:53 left in the game. The Aggies would whittle that lead down to eight after a free throw by Shell, but a three-pointer by Ervin pushed the Phoenix ahead by 13, 55-42, with 12:18 left to play.
• The Phoenix continued to lead by double figures, 59-49, on an LA Pratt layup with 6:36 remaining, but the Aggies came back with a rally to make it a one-possession game. N.C. A&T went on a 9-0 run to cut the Phoenix's advantage to just one, 59-58, with 3:41 left in the contest.
•  Elon was able to give itself some breathing room as Isaac Harrell scored on a layup followed by a three-pointer from Mackinnon to put the Phoenix ahead 64-58 with 2:36 left in the game. The Aggies continued to chip away to cut their deficit to three, 64-61, before a pair of Mackinnon free throws pushed the Phoenix's advantage to five, 66-61.
• A jumper by Shell with 56 seconds left brought the game back to a one-possession contest, 66-63. Elon however was able to hold off the Aggies' comeback attempt as Higgins made a jumper with the shot clock winding down with 24 seconds as his clutch play put Elon up by five, 68-63.
• N.C. A&T got it back down to three, 68-65, with six seconds remaining, but the Phoenix split a pair at the line in the final seconds to hold on to the 69-65 victory.
 
NOTES
• Ervin sits with 199 made three-pointers in his career after matching his season-high with four made triples versus the Aggies. He is tied with Chris Chalko for ninth all-time on the program's career list.
• Elon used the starting lineup of Mackinnon, TK Simpkins, Dorn, Sherry and Harrell for the second straight game. Harrell led the Phoenix with eight rebounds while scoring five points in 25 minutes.
• The Phoenix shot 49 percent from the field in the game while holding the Aggies to 39 percent from the field. Elon, who came into the game ranked third in the CAA in three-point percentage, knocked down 45 percent of its treys (9-of-20).
• Elon's balanced effort led to a 28-3 advantage in bench points for the maroon and gold.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix hosts Stony Brook at Schar Center next Thursday, Feb. 8 for its first matchup of the season against the Seawolves. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will stream on FloHoops.