Strong Second Half Sends Elon Past Towson, 69-48, In Tourney Opener
Rob Washburn
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HARRISONBURG, Va. –Elon made the first basket of the game and never trailed, as the 8
th-seeded Phoenix defeated #9 Towson, 69-48, in the first round of the 2021 Hercules Tires CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, Saturday afternoon at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Va.
After a slow start which did not see its first points until a three-pointer from Elon’s Ikenna Ndugba at the 17:20 mark of the first half, the game was close throughout the first 20 minutes. Elon claimed a 30-24 lead heading into the locker room at intermission.
The Phoenix (8-8) opened the lead to 43-28 in the first six minutes of the second half and expanded the margin to 25 points (65-40) on a bucket in the paint by Ndugba with 5:35 remaining. Elon held the Tigers to 17-of-45 from the field in the game (37.8%) and scored 17 points off of 12 Towson turnovers in the victory.
Elon had a balanced scoring attack in the contest, led by 13 points from Hunter McIntosh and 11 points from Darius Burford. The Phoenix shot 45 percent from the floor and out rebounded the Tigers, 38-25, including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Tigers, finish the season 4-14 overall. Nicolas Timberlake was the only Towson player in double figures, with 14 points. Cam Allen added nine points of the bench for the Tigers.
With the victory, Elon will face top-seed James Madison in the second game of Sunday’s quarterfinal round, tipping at 2:30 p.m.