Elon MBB Completes Season Sweep Of UNCW To Secure Its First Road Win Of The Season

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball held off a late UNCW rally to win its first road game of the season, 62-56.

BOX SCORE | RESULTS

Senior guard Marcus Sheffield dropped 18 points and eight rebounds, including seven points in the final 2:40 of the game to help lead Elon to victory. Sophomore forward Chuck Hannah supplied nine points and four rebounds after going a career-best 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.

UNCW guard Ty Gadsden led the Seahawks with 15 points and five rebounds in the loss.

HIGHLIGHTS
After a late push by UNCW cut Elon’s lead from 13 down to five with three minutes remaining in the game, Sheffield took over down the stretch for the second straight game. With 2:40 remaining in the contest, Sheffield drilled a deep three to give the Phoenix an eight-point advantage. On the next trip down the court, Sheffield knocked down a pull-up jumper to keep UNCW at bay. From there, the Seahawks went on a late 5-0 run that trimmed the Phoenix’s lead down to three with 42 seconds to play. Coming out of an Elon timeout, Sheffield went strong to the rim and powered in a layup with 18 second remaining to ice the game.

Leading 8-6 with 16 minutes to play in the first, Kris Wooten drained his first triple of the night to spark an 8-0 Phoenix run. Following Wooten’s bucket, Sheffield scored on back-to-back possessions to extend Elon’s lead to 10. The Phoenix maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, and secured its first CAA road win of the season.

NOTES
– Tonight’s win doubled as Elon’s first road victory of the season and the team’s first win on a Thursday this season.
– The Phoenix now hold a 12-11 advantage in the all-time series against UNCW
– Elon has now won three of its last four games and moved to a perfect 2-0 in February
– Elon held a 18-15 advantage in bench points and knocked down 20-of-24 free throws
– The Phoenix led by as much as 13, and held the lead for 38:31 of a possible 40 minutes
– For the second time this season, Elon held UNCW to just 17 made field goals, which is tied for the lowest the Phoenix has allowed in a game this year
– Sheffield’s 18 points tonight marked 14th consecutive double-digit scoring effort for the senior, and his 22nd overall this season

UP NEXT
Elon will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 8, to continue CAA play against Charleston. That matchup is slated for 4 p.m. in Charleston, S.C., and will be streamed live on FloSports.