ELON, N.C. – A strong second half helped the Elon University men's basketball team to a 71-60 victory over Northeastern on Saturday night, Feb. 1 at Schar Center as the Phoenix secured the 250^th career win for head coach Billy Taylor.
 
Elon (15-8, 6-4 CAA) saw five players score in double figures with Nick Dorn leading the way with 19 points. TK Simpkins added 15 while Matthew Van Komen had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, both season-highs for the Lehi, Utah, native. TJ Simpkins (11) and Sam Sherry (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Phoenix, who snapped its season-long two-game losing streak.
 
Northeastern (12-11, 4-6 CAA) had four players reach the double-digit scoring column with Rashad King and William Kermoury tying the team-lead with 15 points. JB Frankel and Collin Metcalf had 10 each for the Huskies.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• The game was close early on with eight lead changes and five ties through the first 10 minutes of action. A dunk by Van Komen tied the game at 15-all with 9:37 in the opening half, but Northeastern went on a 7-0 run to lead 22-15 with six minutes remaining in the period.
• Elon came back with a 13-4 run to take the lead at 28-26. TK Simpkins was able to get a floater in the paint to give the Phoenix the lead with 49 seconds left until the break. Northeastern however tied the game on a Rashad King jumper to knot the game at 28-all going into the half.
• Both teams traded baskets to start the second half as a Sherry jump hook tied the game at 30-30. That sparked an 8-0 run for the Phoenix with TK Simpkins scoring the next five points followed by a three by Dorn to give Elon a 38-30 advantage.
• Northeastern cut the Phoenix's lead to four, 40-36, after an and-one free throw by Rashad King. The Phoenix responded with a 6-0 run with Dorn scoring four points during that stretch to help Elon to a 46-36 lead with 11:28 left to play.
• Elon would get its lead as large as 13 after a second-chance layup from TJ Simpkins put the Phoenix ahead 52-39. The Huskies would get their deficit below double figures after a three-pointer by Kermoury brought the score to 54-45 with 8:13 left to play.
• The Phoenix started to pull away, pushing its lead to 16, 65-49, with 3:26 left in the period. The Huskies would get their deficit back to nine, 67-58, with just under a minute remaining, but Elon would secure the win with defensive stops and makes at the charity stripe to complete the 71-60 victory.
 
NOTES
• Elon has its most wins in a season since also winning 15 games during the 2014-15 season. The Phoenix also improved to 9-2 at home this season for its best start at Schar Center.
• Van Komen added his third double-double of the season as his 14 points match a career and Elon high while his 14 boards are a season-high for the graduate student. He also had four blocked shots in the game, giving him 52 on the season for the fifth-most rejections in a single-season.
• The Phoenix dominated the boards, 43-25, with 18 of those coming on the offensive end. That effort led to 19 second-chance points for the maroon and gold.
• Dorn went 11-of-13 from the free throw line, setting a new career high for makes for the Charlotte native. Dorn had the only two misses at the line for Elon as the Phoenix went 21-of-23 from the charity stripe.
• Sherry has scored 961 points in his Elon career.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues the second half of its CAA scheduled to a contest at Campbell on Thursday, Feb. 6. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will stream on FloCollege (FloHoops).