In a battle of power, all that matters is the end result. For Elon’s men’s basketball team, that result was a loss against the Towson Tigers.

Elon fought until the very end, but came up short, losing a physical game 59-72 Jan. 22 at Schar Center.

Junior Isaac Harrell played 70% of the game for the Phoenix. He said the physicality was predictable.

“We knew what it was going to be,” Harrell said.  “Every game of league play is physical.”

Elon started the game locked on defense, forcing a turnover on the first possession. They then scored the first bucket of the game on a layup by graduate student Chandler Cuthrell. This combination of defensive pressure into points on the board would continue for Elon, as they were able to open the game 13-9 in the first 10 minutes. After a quick exchange of points by both teams, Elon would see its 4-point lead evaporate as Towson scored 11 unanswered to take a 22-15 lead over the Phoenix. 

“You have to set the tone early on,” Harrell said. “They set the tone earlier than we did.”

Towson’s lead would wade and flow as the half went on, before finally ending at 29-22 going into half. 

Head coach Billy Taylor said Elon’s lack of physicality on screens was a reason for the deficit.

“We weren’t physical with our screening action,” Taylor said. “We’ve been at our best when we have our screening action away from the ball and tonight the ball stuck.”

Not only did the ball seem to stick to the players, but so did the lead for Towson. 

Exiting halftime, the game went blow for blow, with Elon and Towson scoring back-and-forth for the first 3 minutes of the half. The only change in the score differential was an occasional 3-pointer by Towson following a 2-pointer by Elon. Towson’s lead would grow before Elon would score 4 points in quick succession. This quick burst, however, would be met with a similar run by Towson on back-to-back double free throw makes. 

Soon after, Elon would get a spark from Isaac Harrell in the form of a rare 4-point play. Harrell shot and made a 3-pointer while getting fouled, thus setting up the play. 

“That could’ve been the point that did it for us,” Harrell said. “We just didn’t capitalize.”

Elon would attempt a comeback with an 8-point run, including the spark by Harrell. But, Towson would immediately follow up with an 8-point run of their own, putting the lead back to 12 with 5 and a half minutes remaining. 

Despite their best efforts, Elon fell 59-72 against Towson. The loss is a season low for Elon, the least amount of points they have scored in a game all year.

“We hold them under 40% shooting,” Taylor said. “Usually that’s good enough to win.”

 According to Taylor, the game as a whole was unacceptable for the team..

“That’s just not up to our standards,” Taylor said.

Elon falls to 4-3 in conference play and an overall record of 12-8. Their next match is against College of Charleston on Jan. 24 at Charleston.