ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball earned its third win of the season, 70-46, over Kennesaw State on Monday, Dec. 2.
The Phoenix was led by freshman guard Hunter McIntosh who dropped career-highs in points (19), rebounds (5) and threes (5) on the evening. Marcus Sheffield (18 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Hunter Woods (15 points, four rebounds) also made major contributions in the win.
Kennesaw State was led by guard Terrell Burden, who recorded 15 points and four rebounds in the contest.
HIGHLIGHTS
Hunter McIntosh got Elon on the board early with a right-handed layup in traffic. Marcus Sheffield followed that up with a tough pull-up jumper that kept things close in the early going. Both teams continued to trade buckets early in the first half, with Kennesaw State holding a 10-8 lead just over eight minutes in.
After falling behind 22-9 at the midway point of the half, McIntosh knocked down his first three ball of the night to trim the lead to 10. A few moments later, McIntosh secured a long rebound and threw a perfect pass to Sheffield on the break. Sheffield took care of business from there, rising up for a one-handed slam to bring the Phoenix back within eight.
Trailing by 10 with just under two minutes to play in the half, McIntosh found himself open from beyond the arc, and cashed in his second of back-to-back threes to cut the Kennesaw State lead to 7. On the next trip down the floor, Sheffield wiggled his way through the Owls defense and laid a pretty right-hander off the glass to bring the score within five.
The Phoenix entered the half trailing 31-26.
Elon stormed out of the gates to start the second half, jumping all over Kennesaw State from the opening possession. McIntosh got things going, knocking down his fourth three of the evening to ignite a dominant Phoenix run over the next nine minutes of play. Hunter Woods also played a key role in the spurt, scoring five points on one possession to give Elon their first lead of the game. After surrendering a quick two to Kennesaw State, Kris Wooten knocked down back-to-back jumpers, followed by McIntosh’s fifth and final three of the evening to conclude the 29-2 burst.
After Kennesaw State went on a quick 7-0 run to cut the lead down to 13, Sheffield knocked down a triple to spark a 15-2 run for the Phoenix. The run, which spanned the final 6 minutes of the contest, culminated in two Andy Pack free throws to ice the game.
Elon held on to win the game 70-46, snapping a six-game losing streak in the process.
NOTES
– With today’s win, Elon improved to 3-6 on the season.
– The Phoenix shot the ball 48.9 percent from the floor, including a blistering season-high 52.2 percent clip from beyond the arc.
– The Phoenix went to the line 20 times, making 12 of its attempts from the charity stripe
– Elon turned 17 Owls turnovers into 18 points on the other end
– The Phoenix started the second half on 29-2 run
– Elon led by as much as 26 in the win
UP NEXT
Elon will be back in action on Thursday, Dec. 5, when it travels to High Point, N.C. for a 7 p.m. matchup with High Point.