ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball defeated North Carolina Wesleyan, 91-60, on Saturday, Dec. 14.
The Phoenix was led by freshman guard Hunter McIntosh who dropped 15 points (5-of-5 from long range), three assists and two rebounds on the evening. Elon also got major contributions from freshman forward Hunter Woods, who posted 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win.
N.C. Wesleyan was led by Damon McDowell, who recorded 18 points and two rebounds in the contest.
HIGHLIGHTS
Elon came out of the gates firing early in the first half, jumping out to a dominant lead in the game’s opening minutes. Marcus Sheffield got things started for the Phoenix, knocking down a short floater for the game’s opening bucket. Simon Wright followed that by making his first three-pointer of the game to help spark an 18-2 Elon run. Hunter McIntosh converted back-to-back threes before Hunter Woods capped the spurt with a triple of his own.
Leading 32-16 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half, Hunter McIntosh got open from beyond the arc and drained his fifth triple of the game. The play sparked a quick 7-0 Elon run, culminating in a Simon Wright pull-up jumper. The burst extended the Phoenix’s lead to 39-16 with 6:40 to play in the opening half.
Late in the first half, Zac Ervin’s triple ignited an 8-0 Elon run just before the break. After Chuck Hannah’s layup off a pretty assist from Hunter McIntosh, the Phoenix had pushed their lead up to 24.
Elon entered the half leading 50-28.
Both teams traded buckets for the first few minutes of the second half, before Elon began to retake control with just under 15 minutes to play. After the Battling Bishops cut the lead down to 25, Andy Pack knocked down his first triple of the game to push the lead to 28. A few moments later, Kris Wooten drained a three and Marcus Sheffield weaved his way through traffic for an easy layup. The quick 8-0 burst by the Phoenix extended the lead to 33 with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Leading 74-41 with just under 10 minutes to play in the second half, Kris Wooten knocked down back-to-back threes to put Elon up by 39. On the next possession, Seth Fuller dropped in a smooth pull-up jumper for his first points of the season, which gave the Phoenix its largest lead of the night (41).
Elon picked up its second consecutive victory at Schar Center, tying a program record with 19 made threes, on the way to a 91-60 win.
NOTES
– With today’s win, Elon moved to 4-7 on the season with all four wins coming at Schar Center
– Every player who registered a minute in today’s game scored at least two points
– Elon’s 19 made threes in the contest set a new season-high and tied a Division I program record
– The Phoenix shot a blistering 57.4 percent from the floor, including a 48.7 percent clip from beyond the arc.
– Elon led by as much as 41, never trailed in the contest and held the lead for 39:35 of a possible 40 minutes
– The Phoenix forced 17 Battling Bishops turnovers and turned them in to 17 points on the other end.
UP NEXT
Elon will be back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 17, when it travels to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on Campbell at 7 p.m. That game will be streamed on ESPN +.