By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Elon’s big lead disappeared about as fast as it was built and the Phoenix never fully recovered in a 97-88 loss to visiting Furman in men’s basketball Wednesday night at Schar Center.
Elon (4-4), which led by 18 points in the first half, has lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
And for all the high-scoring moments Elon enjoyed for the first month of the season, the offense went sour at inopportune times. It took the Phoenix more than 10 minutes of the second half to eclipse a dozen points – and by then it was in a double-digit hole.
Trailing 83-77 with 1:51 left, Elon’s Kacper Klaczek missed a pair of free throws before the Paladins rattled off the next four points.
Asa Thomas, a transfer from Clemson, led Furman (5-4) with 21 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field with five 3-point baskets.
Chandler Cuthrell paced Elon with 25 points, Randall Pettus II pumped in 21 points, JaJuan Carr added 12 points, and Bryson Cokely checked in with 11 points off the bench.
Furman’s 12-2 spurt punctuated by a fastbreak basket for a 65-56 lead led to an Elon timeout with 11:28 remaining.
It was much smoother earlier for Elon. Cutrell hit back-to-back 3s to give him 11 points slightly more than four minutes into the game. Pettus hit consecutive 3-pointers followed by Cokley’s 3 and the Phoenix was up 26-13.
Furman guard Alex Wilkins, who entered the game averaging a team-leading 18.4 points per game, picked up his third foul with 11:10 remaining in the first half. Elon’s advantage reached 33-15.
Cokely’s transition dunk made it 40-24. But the Paladins’ 14-0 run came as the Phoenix went nearly five minutes without scoring. Elon went the final 5:49 of the first half without a field goal and the score was 44-44 at halftime.
Furman shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, with Elon at 36 percent.
Elon visits Wofford on Saturday.
- Elon split a pair of games last week.
With an 88-53 romp at Appalachian State, the Phoenix secured its largest margin of victory in a road game in its Division I era (1999-present).
Cuthrell rolled up 23 points, Pettus had 19 points, and Bryson Cokley posted 18 points off the bench at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone.
It was the first meeting between the Phoenix and Mountaineers since 2014.
Then came Saturday’s 91-84 home loss to Mercer, which used an 11-0 run to surge ahead 74-65.
The result marked the end to Elon’s 13-game home non-conference winning streak.
The Bears, who received 29 points from Baraka Okojie, went 22-for-28 on second-half free throws to negate some of Elon’s 48-31 rebounding edge.
Cuthrell racked up 24 points and 13 rebounds and Pettus had 13 points.
Women’s basketball
Elon women went 1-2 last week, beginning with a 93-57 loss at Georgetown.
Then the Phoenix split two games in the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
A 64-61 loss to Tulane came despite 21 points from Tyana Walker, who made six 3-point shots in the Thanksgiving Day game.
Then in Friday’s 65-57 victory against North Dakota, Tamia Watkins provided 11 points and seven rebounds. Elon benefitted from 27 North Dakota turnovers.
Watkins was named the Coastal Athletic Association’s Rookie of the Week.
Elon (3-4) visits East Carolina on Sunday.
