ELON, N.C. – Junior TK Simpkins had his second 30-point game out of his past three contests, but his efforts would fall short as the Elon University men's basketball team was handed a 79-70 setback versus William & Mary on Saturday night, Feb. 22 in the home regular-season finale at Schar Center.
 
Elon (17-12, 8-8 CAA) suffered its first loss in four games on its home floor to the Tribe. Simpkins had a game-high 30 points while going 9-of-18 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Sam Sherry added 19 points for the Phoenix with eight rebounds.
 
William & Mary (17-11, 11-4 CAA) had four players score in double figures with Gabe Dorsey's 21 points leading the way for the Tribe. Kyle Pulliam added 13 with Caleb Dorsey contributing with 12. Chase Lowe added 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers for William & Mary.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• William & Mary took an early 6-2 lead over the Phoenix, but Elon scored five straight to go in front, 7-6, after Andrew King layup. Both teams traded field goals over the next several minutes before the Phoenix went into the first media timeout up 13-12.
• Elon took a three-point lead, 17-14, after another driving layup by King but the Tribe was able to tie it up at 19-all with just under 12 minutes left in the half. The Phoenix responded with a 7-0 run to take a 26-19 lead after a jumper by Simpkins with 8:58 left in the opening period.
• The Phoenix held a 28-23 advantage after a pair of Simpkins free throws with 7:41 left in the half. The Tribe however responded with an 18-0 run over the next six minutes, pushing its lead to 41-28 with two minutes left before the break. A three-point play by Brayden Crump pulled the Phoenix within 10, 41-31, but the Tribe scored the last five points of the period to take a 46-31 advantage into halftime.
• William & Mary moved its lead to 20, 55-35, after a three-pointer by Keller Boothby with 16:50 left in the game. Elon would cut it down to 15, 55-40, on a three-pointer by Simpkins before the first media timeout of the second half.
• The Tribe grew its lead to 19, 61-42, on a layup by Chase Lowe with 14:16 remaining. Elon answered with a 7-2 run to bring its deficit to 14, 63-49, at the 12:26 mark, but William & Mary grew its lead to 17, 68-51, with 8:48 left in the game.
• Elon made another rally with a 12-2 run to cut its deficit to single digits, 70-63, after a Simpkins layup with 4:03 remaining. The Tribe however made a three-pointer to push its advantage back to double figures 73-63.
• The Phoenix would get its deficit to seven once again, 77-70, on a Simpkins three with 17 seconds left. The Tribe would convert on a pair of free throws to set the final score down the stretch.
 
NOTES
• Simpkins is averaging 30 points per game over his last three games. The Brooklyn, native is shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor and from three-point range during that stretch.
• Matthew Van Komen grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Phoenix – his tenth game of the season with double-digit boards. He also had three blocks in the contest.
• Elon won the battle of the boards over the Tribe, 40-30, had grabbed 13 offensive boards.
• Brayden Crump scored eight points off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
Elon's regular season schedule closes out next as the Phoenix makes a trip to Monmouth next Thursday, Feb. 27. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will stream on FloCollege (FloHoops).