Elon MBB Tops Towson in Overtime to Advance in CAA Tourney

BALTIMORE – Rookie Elijah Bryant led all players with 21 points to lead the Elon men’s basketball team to a 74-69 victory in overtime on Friday in the first opening-round game of the 2015 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship at Royal Farms Arena.

Bryant, fresh off winning this season’s CAA Rookie of the Year honor, made 4-for-9 shots from three-point range while Elon, as a team, converted an impressive 13-of-29 shots from deep. The Phoenix has now won a league-best four straight games overall.

Senior Austin Hamilton netted 12 points to go along with four rebounds and seven assists to help the eighth-seeded Phoenix (15-17) advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded William & Mary. Elon, appearing in its first-ever CAA Basketball Championship as a member of the conference, also benefitted from freshman Collin Luther, who had a season-high 11 points and went a perfect 3-of-3 from long range.

Ninth-seeded Towson (12-20) was led by freshman Mike Morsell, who scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Junior Timajh Parker-Rivera scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in defeat.

Elon junior Tanner Samson scored the first five points for his team in overtime, including a triple with 3:17 left that put his team ahead by three. Nearly one minute later, after a TU turnover, Hamilton drained a clutch triple to extend the lead to six points with 2:21 to play.

Towson’s Four McGlynn, who scored 13 points in the game, added a three-point play and a layup late, but Elon’s Kevin Blake put home an open-court slam with seconds to spare to seal the victory.

Towson out-rebounded the Phoenix by a margin of 25-13 in the first half yet still trialed by one, 33-32. Much of Elon’s success in the first 20 minutes related to shooting 7-of-13 from 3-point range. Bryant had 14 points and made three treys alone during that span.

The Tigers trailed by five with 3:51 left in regulation after a Bryant layup, but battled to tie the game on a pair of McGlynn free throws with 19 seconds left. Hamilton missed a potential game-winning jumper with three seconds to go, which forced the contest into overtime.