Shooting Woes Plague Elon MBB In Setback To CofC

ELON, N.C. – Second half shooting woes plagued the Elon men’s basketball team in a 66-50 setback to College of Charleston on Wednesday, Jan. 14, in CAA action from Alumni Gym.

Elon (10-8, 2-3 CAA) went without a make from three in the final 20 minutes of the game, shooting 30 percent from the floor as a whole in the second period. Meanwhile, led by the play of Canyon Barry, the Cougars kept their foot on the gas in the final 20 minutes to lead CofC (6-12, 1-4 CAA) to its first league win.

“This one certainly doesn’t feel good because we never really got into a good rhythm,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We didn’t really flow offensively. I thought Charleston controlled the tempo of the game with their ability to run offense and get the shots they wanted to take. We need to get better and we did not take a step forward tonight.”

Barry led all players with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including four makes from deep, as College of Charleston shot 54 percent from the floor.

Elijah Bryant scored a team-high 19 points, while Kevin Blake finished with 10 for the Phoenix.

Charleston ended the game with a 32-23 edge on the glass, but Elon won the battle in the paint, 24-14.

Both squads shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Cougars held a 31-27 lead after 20 minutes. College of Charleston held Tanner Samson without a field goal attempt in the first half, as Bryant and Blake each tallied nine first-half points to lead the Phoenix. Samson, the CAA’s leader in three-pointers made, finished the game scoreless for the first time since Jan. 4, 2013, at Western Carolina.

Barry pushed the Cougars out to an 11-point lead early in the second session after knocking down a jumper near the free throw line with 15:57 remaining to make it a 40-29 game.

Minutes later, Barry led the Cougars on an 8-0 run and forced an Elon timeout midway through the second half with 10:26 to play, as the sophomore guard slashed to the rim for a finger-roll layup to put the Phoenix down, 48-36.

Charleston led by as many as 17 points in the second half, as Elon could not managed to find a rhythm offensively to climb back from a double-digit deficit.

The Phoenix returns to the hardwood Saturday, Jan. 17, at James Madison.