ELON, N.C. – Faces on the Elon University men's basketball team were grim when the Phoenix went to the locker room at the end of the first half on Saturday night. An early barrage of trading points by both sides had quickly slipped into a 23-3 run by its opponent, William & Mary, whose unconventional style of play flustered Elon on both ends to the tune of 18 unanswered points. Heads were down across the Schar Center as the team entered the tunnel with an imposing 15-point deficit on the board.
With two of Elon's top scorers, sophomore guards Nick Dorn and TJ Simpkins, not dressed for the game, odds of a comeback seemed slim. However, the Phoenix never showed any signs of quitting, and turned to some of its best players to carry the load.
Senior forward Sam Sherry, who was honored before the game for Senior Day, left everything he had on the court in his final game at Schar. He dominated inside the arc, floating in several mid-range twos and going a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line. Several times, he was able to break the Tribe's air-tight defense with his aggressiveness and agility, which opened up windows to shoot the ball.
Sherry's biggest plays of the night came on defense. He faced a tough assignment all game but always stayed in position to disrupt the shooter. In the first half, he turned around midair to knock a layup off the glass with his left hand, which left the veteran smiling as he climbed five rows into the stands to stop his momentum.
Arguably the best moment for the senior forward came at the peak of Elon's second half run. With the Phoenix deficit down to nine points with five minutes to go, Sherry threw up that same hand to violently slam a layup down, sending the ball careening into the student section as the crowd roared.
"We stepped it up in the second half, and we played a lot more aggressive defense," Sherry said. "We did everything with more aggressiveness, especially our one-on-one defense. We took pride in it."
Despite 19 points and eight rebounds from the senior, Elon couldn't pull off the comeback. However, Sherry was still able to look back on his time with Elon and at Schar with pride.
"I've had a great career," Sherry said. "I thank everybody who has come out to support me and the guys. I owe it all to my teammates and my coach."
Junior guard TK Simpkins also stepped up for the offense when Elon was down. The elder twin has averaged 30 points in the last two games and matched that number exactly on the stat sheet against the Tribe, including three triples that all helped spark scoring runs for the Phoenix. Even when the three-point game was taken away by William & Mary, Simpkins showed a willingness to get scrappy and attack the basket inside, which helped to counter the Tribe's physicality and draw fouls that helped him put up nine points at the line.
"What he did tonight was somewhat heroic," head coach Billy Taylor said. "Full court pressure, break the pressure, still scoring the half court, creating for us. I just thought he did so much good for our basketball team tonight."
Redshirt freshman forward Brayden Crump also stepped up and did a lot of good against the Tribe. He battled on the glass, giving the Phoenix second chance opportunities after errant shots and free throws. His scores came at crucial points as well, breaking William & Mary's run in the first half with a huge and-one, and hitting a three-pointer early in the second half that invigorated his team. Crump has quietly become a threat from long range, knocking down threes in four of his last five games.
"Brayden was really good for us," Taylor said. "I thought he gave a great spark off the bench for us. His offensive rebounding, his ability to go get and pursue the basketball, was really good."
Defensively, Elon's other bigs were instrumental in slowing down William & Mary's quick offense. Sophomore forward Kendall Campbell climbed the ladder during the opening minutes of the second half to block a layup out of a player's hands, with his physicality proving to be a perfect match against the Tribe.
Graduate center Matthew Van Komen also used his length to shut down opportunities in the paint. Of his three blocks on the day, his most comical came early when all he had to do was stand over a William & Mary player trying to put a shot up under the rim. With his arms outstretched, he knocked the ball away without ever letting his feet leave the floor, making the 6'5" player he was guarding look like a child going up against Victor Wembanyama.
"In the second half, we did a much better job getting our defense set," Taylor said. "We were organized and were trying to chase them off the three."
Elon managed to trim the deficit to seven points multiple times, with the energy in the arena picking up as William & Mary began to look more uncomfortable offensively. While the Phoenix was unable to muster a final push to get the team over the hump, the promise and resolve that the team showed in the second half had Taylor feeling optimistic heading into the final two games of the regular season.
"I like the way that our guys fought back in the second half, down 20," Taylor said. "I thought we showed a lot of grit and a lot of competitiveness as we just tried to scrap and figure out a way to get back into the ball game. In terms of our competitiveness, our fight, and our defense in the second half, I was really pleased and hopeful for things to come."
Elon plays next on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. on the road against Monmouth (10-18, 8-7) at the OceanBank First Center. The contest could prove key in seeding for the CAA tournament with Elon's now 8-8 record. In addition to its earlier head-to-head victory against the Hawks, a victory could improve the Phoenix's seed line before the tournament starts on March 7.
'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
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