The Elon University Men's Basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Friday, Nov. 15, to UNC Charlotte 83-69 at the Halton Arena.
The Phoenix were ahead most of the game until the 49ers pulled ahead by one with six minutes and fifty-three seconds remaining in the game. After that, Charlotte went on an 18-0 run to put the game out of reach.
"It was a very hard fought game for the better part of thirty-three or thirty-four minutes," Elon Head Coach Matt Matheny said. "It's a disappointing ending because our players really played hard tonight."
Charlotte was dominant down low, out rebounding Elon by a 47-26 margin. They also out scored the Phoenix in the paint 42-28. The 49ers had 12 offensive rebounds, and scored 16 second-chance points against the Phoenix.
For the third straight game, Elon had four players score in double figures, led by 19 points by junior guard Austin Hamilton. Senior guard Sebastian Koch and sophomore Tanner Samson each added 12 points, while senior forward Ryley Beaumont finished with 11 for the Phoenix.
Shawn Lester scored a game-high 24 points and added 11 rebounds for the 49ers, and Willie Clayton scored 12 points and grabbed 11 boards to give Charlotte two players with double-doubles on the night.
Up next, the Phoenix will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey to the Rutgers Athletic Center. They will face Drexel on Monday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the Preseason National Invitational Tournament.