ELON N.C.– Elon University men's basketball got back on track with a 61-54 win over William & Mary on Thursday, Jan. 27, at Schar Center. With the win, the Phoenix moved to 3-1 at home in CAA play and 6-3 overall on its home court this season.
 
"Just proud of our guys," head coach Mike Schrage opened. "Winning close games is always valuable for your growth as a team – but I thought we had a good hold on that game and lost it. For us to respond in those first few minutes when all of the momentum was kind of in their direction, I couldn't be prouder of the guys. It's going to be a step we made that we're really going to appreciate the rest of the season."
 
THE RUNDOWN
- The Phoenix opened the scoring when Hunter Woods found fellow junior Hunter McIntosh wide open in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three. The Tribe answered with a quick run to take an early 10-5 lead. Elon responded with a 12-2 tear sparked by a triple from Kris Wooten. After Torrence Watson tied the game at 10-10, a Zac Ervin three gave the Phoenix a three-point advantage (13-10). The scoring run was capped by an electrifying behind-the-back crossover to double-clutch layup by Darius Burford, lifting Elon to a 17-12 lead and forcing a W&M timeout with 11:05 remaining.
- Elon maintained the momentum throughout the half thanks to a pair of dunks from Michael Graham. The second Graham slam sparked a 6-0 run that gave Elon its largest lead of the first half (11) with 2:45 until halftime. The Tribe strung together some points late, but Elon held a 30-25 lead heading into the break.
- After William & Mary cut its deficit down to five with just under 18 minutes to play, Elon answered with a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 44-31. Back-to-back triples from Torrence Watson and Hunter McIntosh ignited the spurt, putting the Phoenix back on top by 11. Four quick points from Graham capped the run and gave Elon a 13-point advantage with just under 14 minutes remaining.
- The Tribe fought back from there, cutting the Elon lead down to 52-51 with 2:39 left to play. McIntosh answered for the Phoenix, scoring five points in the final two minutes to extend the lead to 57-51 with less than a minute until the final buzzer. Burford and McIntosh sealed the game at the free-throw line, knocking down all four of their attempts to secure the 61-54 win.
 
NOTES
- Michael Graham continued his strong play, finishing with a new career-high 20 points, adding 12 rebounds and two blocks in the third-straight double-double for the sophomore. He has five double doubles so far this season. Through eight CAA outings this season, Graham has upped his averages to 13.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
- Torrence Watson added 14 points and six rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the win. The performance marked Watson's eighth double-figure scoring outing this season, and his second in a row after finishing with 20 points against Delaware on Jan. 22.
- Hunter McIntosh ended the night with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 34 minutes of action. The performance marked the 13^th double-digit scoring output for the junior this year and the 46^th in his career.
- Darius Burford posted eight points and four rebounds in 32 minutes, while Hunter Woods led the team with a career-high six assists.
- The Phoenix allowed a season-low in three-point percentage, holding the tribe to just 18.2 percent (4-of-22), including a 10 percent (1-of-10) mark in the second half.
- Elon scored 26 points in the paint and 12 points off turnovers. 
- The Phoenix led by as much as 13 and for 35:45 of a possible 40 minutes.
 
UP NEXT
Elon returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 29, when it travels to Williamsburg, Va. for a matchup with William & Mary. That contest is slated for a 4 p.m. tip and will be streamed live on FloSports.