By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Elon finally showed life on offense and excited the home Schar Center crowd just in time for it all to go sour Thursday night.
The result was a 72-59 loss to Towson in Coastal Athletic Conference men’s basketball.
“We got it right in striking range,” Elon coach Billy Taylor said. “Felt like we were in good position where if we can just buckle down defensively and get a couple of stops, get some clean rebounds.”
That didn’t happen as the Phoenix (12-8 overall, 4-3) fell for the fourth time in 11 home outings.
Chandler Cuthrell’s 17 points, Isaac Harrell’s 12 points, and Bryson Cokley’s 10 points were tops for Elon. It was a season-low point total for the Phoenix – 10 fewer than the previous low mark, which came in a victory at North Carolina A&T. The Phoenix shot a season-worst 39.2 percent from the floor.
“The ball stuck,” Taylor said. “Too much dribbling and not enough screening and cutting, and that’s usually not a good formula for us.”
Towson battered the Phoenix on the boards, building a 12-point lead on a few occasions in the second half.
Harrell’s four-point play cut it to 52-46 with 8:38 remaining before Cokley converted for a transition basket. A 12-point hole had been reduced to four.
“We were scraping for energy,” Harrell said. “I feel like that could have been the point that did it for us. We just didn’t capitalize.”
During the next four-minute stretch, Towson’s Dylan Williamson hit four 3s, while Elon missed five straight shots to go with three turnovers. Cuthrell’s two free throws were the only bright spot for the Phoenix.
Williamson, who had six of the Tigers’ nine 3-pointers, ended up with 16 of his 24 points in the last 7½ minutes.
“He made tough ones,” Taylor said. “That’s what good players do. They find a way to make shots, make plays.”
Towson’s 21 offensive rebounds matched Elon’s 21 defensive rebounds, not a good equation for the Phoenix.
“It’s definitely demoralizing when you know what they’re doing,” Harrell said. “We knew what we had to do and we just weren’t physical enough. . . We’ve got to get ready for Charleston who beat us up on the glass the last time we played them.”
Elon’s offensive struggles came with 13 turnovers compared to 12 assists, another ratio that isn’t likely to add up positively.
Towson was up 29-22 at halftime, marking Elon’s lowest-scoring half of the season – the lowest first half had been 33. Cuthrell had 11 points by the break.
Elon forward Kacper Klaczek went down with an apparent ankle injury with 12 minutes left in the second half. He looked limited during his brief return to action.
Note: Elon’s game Saturday at College of Charleston has been moved up five hours to noon because of weather-related travel concerns.
