A four-game losing streak for the Elon University men’s basketball came to an end with a 90-85 win over Georgia State University Tuesday night, Nov. 26, in Alumni Gym.
The victory, which saw six Elon players score in double figures, was Elon’s first come-from-behind triumph of 2013-2014.
The Phoenix led by as much as six in the opening minutes before the visiting Panthers gained control on a three-pointer from redshirt senior forward Manny Atkins with 8:59 remaining in the half. Georgia State never was able to push their lead beyond six before the intermission.
For a stretch between 4:11 and 3:22 remaining in the half, the two teams traded a pair of three-pointers each; four of the 25 combined threes made in the game. Georgia State took a 44-41 lead into the locker room, and Elon was forced to make adjustments to avoid its fifth straight loss.
Sophomore guard Tanner Samson hit a three-pointer for the Phoenix with 18:05 remaining that tied the game at 46, and another Samson three with 16:24 left gave Elon its first lead in almost 12 minutes of game action at 51-49.
The Panthers went on a cold spell from there, and Elon built its largest lead of the game at eight points with 10:14 left in the game at 62-54. However, redshirt junior guard Ryan Harrow put the Panthers on his back and refused to go quietly. The transfer from the University of Kentucky and North Carolina State University scored 21 second-half points, and a layup with 8:25 remaining tied the game at 63.
At the 7:54 mark, sophomore guard R.J. Hunter, the son of the Panthers’ head coach Ron Hunter, hit a three-pointer to give Georgia State the lead back at 67-66. A pair of Elon threes gave the Phoenix a four-point advantage with just under seven minutes left, and the Phoenix never relinquished the lead from there. Georgia State trimmed the lead to one on multiple occasions, the latest with 4:16 left.
However, consistent three-point an free throw shooting down the stretch cemented the win for the Phoenix, which improved to 3-4 win the win. Georgia State fell to 2-4 in defeat.
Senior forward Lucas Troutman led the Phoenix with 19 points and was followed by Samson and senior guard Sebastian Koch with 15 points apiece.
Harrow led the Panthers with 34 points, double that of the next Georgia State player.
Elon is back in action on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 2:00 p.m. when the Phoenix hosts Columbia University in Alumni Gym.