Elon Men’s Basketball Defeats William & Mary For Second Straight Win

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball defeated William & Mary, 75-54, to earn its second consecutive victory on Saturday, Feb. 20.

BOX SCORE

“We especially know how tough it is to play after a pause and we certainly benefitted from William & Mary coming off one today,” head coach Mike Schrage began. “We knew how important it was to get off to a quick start and try not to let them get into a good rhythm. To our guys credit we did and were able to sustain it for the most part. Really proud of Darius and Ike’s energy and playmaking especially. We are excited to be at home on Monday and also realize it will be a whole new challenge for us.”

THE RUNDOWN
– Elon came out of the gates on fire, jumping out to an early 20-4 lead. Darius Burford got things rolling for the Phoenix, knocking down a tough floater for Elon’s first points of the game. Ikenna Ndugba followed that up with back-to-back triples from the right wing to put Elon up by six early. After four quick points from Hunter McIntosh and Ndugba respectively, Burford drilled a three of his own to make the score 15-4. Ndugba capped the 20-4 burst with his third three of the day to give the Phoenix a 16-point advantage with 13 minutes to go in the first half.
– With just over five minutes to play before the break, Simon Wright knocked down his lone triple of the day to extend the Phoenix’s lead to 19. Shortly after, Burford dropped five quick points that capped an 8-0 Elon run late in the opening half.
– Both sides traded scores for the remainder of the first half, with Elon entering the break with a 44-23 advantage.
– The Phoenix carried over their hot first half start to the second half, opening on a 7-2 run out of the break. Ndugba got things going with a tough runner to put Elon on top 46-25. McIntosh followed that up with a deep three, before Wright capped the spurt with a mid-range jumper of his own. The run gave Elon a 26-point lead that it would never relinquish.
– The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the game with Elon going on to win, 75-54.

NOTES
– Darius Burford led the way for the Phoenix, posting career-highs in points (27), rebounds (7) and steals (4) in 35 minutes of action.
– Ikenna Ndugba added a season-high 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists on the day, connecting on 8-of-12 field goals and 3-of-4 three point attempts.
– Simon Wright and Hunter McIntosh combined for 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win.
– Elon held a 39-34 advantage on the glass and a 10-6 advantage in second chance points.
– The Phoenix led by as much as 27 and for a total of 37:42 of game time.
– Elon knocked down a season-high 31 field goals at a season-best 51% clip.
– Freshman Brandon Harris scored the first points of his collegiate career late in the victory.
– Today’s 21-point win is the largest for the Phoenix since winning by 30 against N.C. Wesleyan in its season opener.

UP NEXT
Elon returns to action on Monday, Feb. 22, when it hosts William & Mary at Schar Center on Elon’s campus. That matchup is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff and will be streamed live on FloSports.