ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team suffered a 60-59 setback versus North Carolina A&T on Thursday night, Feb. 13, at Schar Center.
 
TJ Simpkins led three Elon (15-11, 6-7 CAA) players in double figures with 14 points followed by TK Simpkins with 11. Matthew Van Komen nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Aggies (5-21, 1-12 CAA) also had three players score in double digits with Jahnathan Lamothe pacing the team with a game-high 21 points. Nikolaos Chitikoudis added 19 with nine rebounds while Camian Shell added 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Elon opened the game with a 9-2 lead after a TK Simpkins jumper with 15:34 left in the first half. The Phoenix pushed that lead to 11, 15-4, after Sherry knocked down a triple.
• The Aggies fought back to the Phoenix's lead to five, 19-14, but Elon went on a 5-0 run to go ahead by 10, 24-14. The Phoenix held its 10-point lead after a Matthew Van Komen jump hook put the score 26-16 in favor of the maroon and gold.
• The Phoenix was up 36-26 after a three-pointer from Andrew King with 2:47 left in the first half. North Carolina A&T closed out the first period on a 5-0 run to slice Elon's lead in half as both teams went into the locker room with the Phoenix ahead 36-31.
• The Aggies battled back at the start of the second half to take a 41-39 lead after opening the period on a 10-2 run. Elon would tie the game off a Van Komen putback dunk and a pair of TJ Simpkins free throws, but the Aggies hit a three to move in front 44-43 at the under-12 media timeout in the second half.
• Brayden Crump hit a three to give the Phoenix a 46-44 lead with 11:02 left in the game. N.C. A&T however kept battling to retake the lead, 49-48 with 7:56 left in the period. A driving layup by Shell gave the Aggies a 51-48 advantage with 7:31 remaining.
• Elon responded with a 9-0 run to go in front by six, 57-51, with 3:22 left to play. TJ and TK Simpkins both had baskets during that stretch while Isaac Harrell knocked down a three before a Van Komen dunk capped off the run.
• North Carolina A&T responded with a run of its own, going on a 9-2 stretch over the final three minutes to take the lead. A layup by Lamothe tied the game at 57 with just over a minute remaining, but a jumper from TJ Simpkins put the Phoenix ahead 59-57 with 44 seconds left.
• The Aggies answered to take the lead about 22 seconds later as Lamothe lined up a triple to put the visitors in front, 60-59. Elon tried to respond, but a missed jumper in the lane returned the ball back to the Aggies, forcing the Phoenix to foul or force a turnover in the backcourt.
• After three Phoenix fouls that ticked the clock down to seven seconds, Elon got the evasive turnover on a five-second out-of-bounds call, giving possession back to the maroon and gold. The Phoenix however could not get a good look for the go-ahead basket as the Aggies' defense held and escaped with the one-point win.
 
NOTES
• Tonight was the first game that both twins, TJ and TK Simpkins, started a game together this season.
• Van Komen added four blocks in the game, increasing his total to 61 on the year. He becomes just the second player in school history to reach 60 or more blocks in a single season behind Lucas Troutman's school-record 64 he had in 2012-13.
• Sam Sherry scored seven points for the Phoenix and sits with 999 career points.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix travels to UNCW for a road game on Saturday, Feb. 15. Game time between the Phoenix and the Seahawks is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will stream on FloCollege (FloSports).