By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
As dire as it might have looked for Elon’s men’s basketball team, that made the thrills that much better for the Phoenix on Saturday night.
It wasn’t any ordinary pre-holiday endeavor against UNC Greensboro.
“It is a big win for us,” Elon coach Billy Taylor said. “They’ve kind of dominated the series of recent time. So this is big for us to be able to win and be able to kind of compete at that level with a program that has been really, really good.”
Senior forward Sam Sherry, who missed the previous game with a shoulder injury, turned in career highs of 28 points and 14 rebounds as the Phoenix rallied from a 14-point, second-half deficit to win 73-69 at Schar Center.
“Our guys are tough,” Sherry said. “I’ve been saying that from the beginning.”
The outcome snapped UNCG’s six-game winning streak in the series, resulting in Elon’s first victory against the Spartans in nine years.
It also marked the biggest comeback for a victory in at least eight years for the Phoenix (8-4).
“We just started chipping away at it little by little,” freshman forward Brayden Crump said.
With frequent second-half momentum shifts, it was a matter of staying the course.
“We just wanted to keep battling, keep competing,” Taylor said. “Fortunately for us we were able to find a way. … To win a game like that in kind of gritting, hard-nosed fashion was really rewarding for our team.”
T.J. Simpkins had 14 points and Nick Dorn added 13 points for Elon, which shot 4-for-23 on 3-pointers.
But Sherry, with a harness on his left shoulder, was full of determination.
“I knew I was going to play in this game and I was going to be as ready as I possibly could be,” Sherry said.
Sherry’s jump-hook provided a 70-69 lead with 30.5 seconds left. Elon made a defensive stop and, with 5.5 seconds left, Sherry went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, with the ball out of bounds off the Spartans, so Elon kept possession. Sherry drained two foul shots to clinch it.
On his previous attempt prior to the go-ahead basket, Sherry missed a similar shot a few minutes earlier.
“A short mind when you’re playing basketball, just on to the next one,” Sherry said. “Have confidence in every shot you take. Obviously, it was a good post feed into me and I just made the shot.”
So it was a strong response from a 26-point loss three nights earlier at East Tennessee State.
“When you hit adversity, which you’re going to hit in every season, you get a challenge, you want to see how your team steps up and responds and we really stepped up,” Taylor said.
Crump supplied a spirited 25½ minutes off the bench, collecting seven points and six rebounds. His presence contributed to Elon’s 47-27 rebounding advantage.
“We dominated it,” Crump said. “As long as we dominate the boards, we’re going to be in whatever game. It doesn’t matter who we play.”
UNCG slipped out to a 37-26 lead, with Elon going more than 6½ minutes without a field goal. That stretch included three straight missed 3-pointers, with two that didn’t even strike the rim.
The Spartans led 44-30 at halftime. The Phoenix trailed by eight at the 11-minute mark.
Then the highlights started piling up for the Phoenix. Simpkins’ fastbreak drive capped by a dunk pulled the Phoenix within 56-52. Elon was even on Sherry’s basket with 8:52 left and ahead on Crump’s putback.
“I like to be the hype guy, try to get people going,” Crump said. “Just be the dog of the team, just try to set a standard of everyone buying into it. When everyone buys into it, stuff like tonight (happens).”
Elon’s 17-0 burst punctuated by Sherry’s three-point play created a 65-56 lead. Three straight 3s from the Spartans tied the score with less than 3½ minutes to play. UNCG made it 11 consecutive points before Dorn’s go-ahead 3-pointer set up the final couple of minutes.
Simpkins, who scored nine of Elon’s first 16 points, played nearly 39 minutes after not logging as many as 31 all season.
His brother T.K. Simpkins (14.3 points per game), who started the first 11 games, was on the bench with a brace on his right leg. Taylor said he’s likely out for at least a couple of weeks.
“We had to try some different combinations and figure out what was going to stick, what was going to work,” Taylor said.
Kenyon Giles led UNCG (6-6) with 24 points.
For Elon, it might be a good primer about two weeks before Coastal Athletic Association play begins.
“It kind of gets us prepared for what we’re going to see in CAA,” Taylor said.
NOTES …: UNCG was denied defeating three Triad non-conference foes after topping High Point and North Carolina A&T earlier this month. … Elon missed more free throws (going 23-for-33) than UNCG attempted (7-for-9). … UNCG assistant coach Josh Gross is in his first season with the Spartans after the past two seasons with the Phoenix. … Elon returns to action Saturday night against visiting Marshall for its final non-league game.
