Phoenix Soars to Victory: Overcoming N.C. A&T with a 75-67 Triumph

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball squad witnessed five players achieving double figures as the Phoenix secured a 75-67 victory on the road against North Carolina A&T on Thursday, Jan. 2, marking the CAA opener for the maroon and gold.
 
TJ Simpkins led the Phoenix (10-4, 1-0 CAA) with 19 points, marking Elon’s first CAA road opener win since Jan. 7, 2016, against James Madison. Nick Dorn contributed 13 points for the maroon and gold while Andrew King tallied a season-high 11 points. Sam Sherry and Matthew Van Komen each added 10 points, with Van Komen achieving a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds.
 
Landon Glasper scored a game-high 22 points for the Aggies (4-11, 0-2 CAA) while Jahnathan Lamothe notched 16. Nikolaos Chitikoudis recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds while Ryan Forrest contributed 11 points.
 
THE RECAP
• Elon was trailing the Aggies 10-4 after a jumper by Glasper at the 16:36 mark of the first half. The Phoenix narrowed the gap to four points, 13-9, but N.C. A&T managed to extend its lead to seven points, 18-11, following a Glasper basket caused by a turnover.
• The Phoenix stayed in contention, pulling within three points, 21-18, following a Sherry bucket with 11:55 remaining in the opening period. Glasper extended the Aggies’ lead to 24-20, but a swift 5-0 run by the Phoenix, including a dunk by Van Komen and a three-pointer by Dorn, provided Elon its first lead of the contest at 25-24.
• North Carolina A&T regained a three-point advantage, 30-27, with a three-pointer from Jalal McKie. However, the Phoenix launched an 18-4 run to conclude the opening half, punctuated by consecutive threes from King. Elon went into halftime with a 45-34 advantage.
• The Aggies closed the gap to seven points, 45-38, to begin the second half, but Van Komen and Sherry answered with baskets in the paint to extend the maroon and gold lead to 11 points, 49-38. N.C. A&T reduced the margin to eight points, 50-42, following a layup with 16:18 remaining.
• Elon countered with an 8-0 run to establish its largest lead of the second half, 58-42. The Phoenix maintained a double-digit advantage at 65-55 after Dorn hit a second-chance jumper with 8:15 left to play.
• An aggressive 7-0 run by the Aggies in the following two minutes made it a one-possession game, 65-62, after Forrest converted a pair of free throws with 6:14 remaining. The Phoenix managed to defend against the Aggies for the next two and a half minutes until Simpkins tallied on an and-one opportunity with 3:51 remaining, boosting Elon to a 68-62 lead.
• Another jumper by Simpkins pushed the maroon and gold ahead by eight points, 70-62, prior to the Aggies managing their first field goal in nearly five minutes with a layup at 1:59 left. Elon secured the victory at the free-throw line as Simpkins and Isaac Harrell combined to sink five free throws in the final minute to allow the Phoenix to clinch the 75-67 triumph.
 
NOTABLES
• This victory marked Elon’s third consecutive win while also granting the Phoenix its first 1-0 start in conference play since Dec. 29, 2021, when they beat Northeastern 79-62. The Phoenix moved to 4-7 all-time in CAA openings.
• Sherry participated in his 100^th career game for the Phoenix while making his 69^th career start.
• Elon dominated the rebounding department, 48-36, improving to 10-1 when they out-rebound opponents. The Phoenix accumulated 19 offensive rebounds, achieving a 7-2 record when securing 12 or more second-chance opportunities. Elon amassed 26 points from the offensive boards against the Aggies.
• King went 4-of-7 from the field, achieving a career-best 3-of-4 from three-point range. The Phoenix, Ariz. native also collected six rebounds and dished out three assists.
• The Phoenix shot 22-of-27 from the free-throw line, in comparison to 10-of-16 for the Aggies. Simpkins shot 10-of-11 at the charity stripe, setting a season high for the sophomore.
• Van Komen achieved his second double-double of the season. The native of Lehi, Utah, also recorded three blocks, marking his 10^th game with two or more rejections.
• Elon has now secured three consecutive wins over its Piedmont Triad rival, North Carolina A&T. The Aggies still hold the all-time series lead at 12-7.
 
UPCOMING
Elon is set to host Hampton for its CAA home opener on Saturday, January 4 at Schar Center. The tip-off time for the matchup between the Phoenix and the Pirates is slated for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on FloCollege.
 

— ELON —