STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Elon University men's basketball team nearly overcame an 18-point, second-half deficit closing within one possession several times down the stretch, but the Phoenix would fall at Stony Brook, 71-66, on Saturday night, March 1, at Stony Brook Arena.
 
The Phoenix (17-14, 8-10 CAA), still missing a couple of double-figure scorers in Nick Dorn and TJ Simpkins, was led tonight by TK Simpkins and his 19 points. Andrew King tied his career-high with 17 points including knocking down a personal-best five threes on the evening. Sam Sherry contributed with 16, 14 of those coming in the second half.
 
Stony Brook (8-23, 4-14 CAA) saw CJ Luster score a game-high 24 points to lead the Seawolves. Andre Snoddy added a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds as Stony Brook won its second straight game over the Phoenix.
 
THE RUNDOWN
• Stony Brook jumped out to a 10-4 lead, which included the game's first five points. A three-pointer from King and a putback layup from Matthew Van Komen pulled the Phoenix within one, 10-9.
• The Seawolves went on a 9-2 run to take a 19-11 lead with 11 minutes left in the opening half. A three from Trey O'Neil brought the maroon and gold within five, 19-14, but Stony Brook worked to expand its lead to double digits, 24-14, after five straight points from Muster.
• Elon would get its deficit down to as low as seven three times for the remainder of the first half, including cutting Stony Brook's lead to 32-25 after another King triple with 4:16 left in the half. A 6-2 run by the Seawolves over the next three and a half minutes gave the hosts an 11-point advantage, 38-27, but a Simpkins layup just before the end of the period brought Elon within nine, 38-27, going into the break.
• Sherry scored the first basket of the second half to pull Elon within seven, 38-31, but the Seawolves reeled off an 8-0 run to push their advantage to 46-31 after a Luster layup off a Phoenix turnover. The Phoenix faced a 13-point deficit, 48-35, going into the first media timeout in the second half.
• The Seawolves saw their lead grow to 18, 53-35, after a three from Leon Nahar. Stony Brook continued to stay in control, taking a 66-52 advantage after a Snoddy jumper with 6:02 remaining.
• Elon however made a furious rally in the final minutes, going on a 12-1 run to make it a one-possession game. Sherry sparked the run with a three-pointer and scored 10 of the Phoenix's points in that stretch, including another three with 1:43 left to make the score 67-64 in favor of the hosts.
• After Stony Brook split a pair at the free throw line, with 49 seconds left, Sherry scored again in the paint to make it a two-point game, 68-66. The Seawolves were fouled again, but split their chances at the charity stripe as the Phoenix raced down the other end after gaining possession with the rebound with 22 seconds left.
• Elon called Sherry's number again, but his jump hook went long off the iron as the Phoenix was forced to foul again to send Stony Brook to the line. The Phoenix stayed alive as the Seawolves missed the front end of a one-and-one with Elon looking to score. Simpkins' three-point attempt was blocked by the Seawolves' Collin O'Connor with Stony Brook gaining possession off the defensive stop.
• O'Connor would connect on a pair at the free throw line at the other end, settling the final score of 71-66.
 
NOTES
• King's 17 points were an Elon-high for the Phoenix, Ariz., native while matching his personal-best he scored versus Incarnate Word as a member of the Houston Christian basketball team in 2023. The redshirt sophomore also had five rebounds and four assists.
• Stony Brook now leads the all-time series over Elon, 4-1, including a 2-1 ledger as conference opponents.
• Elon used a starting lineup of King, TK Simpkins, Sherry, Van Komen and Isaac Harrell for the third straight game.
• The Phoenix outrebounded the Seawolves 38-34 and outscored them in the paint, 26-16. Stony Brook however scored 16 points off turnovers compared to six for Elon.
 
UP NEXT
The 2025 Jersey Mike's CAA Men's Basketball Championship is up next for the Phoenix with the event taking place at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. from March 7-11.