After taking a loss to Western Carolina in its first Southern Conference game, the Elon University Men's Basketball team rebounded at home against Appalachian State, leaving Alumni Gym with a 75-66 win on Monday, Jan. 6.
After dominating both sides of the ball for the game's first 30 minutes and taking a commanding 20-point lead with 11:34 to go, it took a team effort by the Phoenix to hold off a run that pulled the Mountaineers within six with a minute to go and hang on for the win.
Trailing 8-7 with 13:42 to go in the first half after a slow start, Elon reeled off on a 28-12 run over the remainder of the half to take a 35-20 lead into the break.
"We are very happy with the win and I think we took a step forward tonight," Elon Head Coach Matt Matheny said. "It was not always pretty, but I thought our first half performance was maybe the best we've played all year."
The Phoenix shot 54.7% from the field and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 35-21 despite hitting only 3-13 from downtown after coming into the game ranked tenth in the nation in three-point percentage.
Senior forward Ryley Beaumont led the Phoenix with 16 points and junior forward Ryan Winters added 14 points on 6-7 shooting while Jay Canty paced Appalachian State with 20 points.
Up next, Elon will take on The Citadel in a SoCon contest at Alumni Gym on Saturday Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.