Elon MBB Takes Down Northeastern 71-67 in Beantown

BOSTON – The Elon University men’s basketball team used a strong surge and good defensive play in the second half, overcoming a 14-point deficit to take down the reigning CAA champions Northeastern 71-67 on Saturday, Jan. 30, inside historic Matthews Arena.

Dmitri Thompson led the Phoenix (13-10, 4-6 CAA) with 19 points and Tyler Seibring recorded his second-career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Eddy chipped in 13 points and had a team-high six assists. Tanner Samson also finished in double-figures adding 11 points of his own.

Elon held Northeastern (12-11, 4-6 CAA) to 28.6 percent (8-28) shooting in the second half and outrebounded the Huskies 44-29 in the game. The Phoenix struggled from behind the arc going 2-of-23 from deep, but assisted 18 of the team’s 23 baskets.

David Walker finished with 25 points to lead the Huskies. T.J. Williams also finished in double-figures with 12 points and Zach Stahl had a team-high six rebounds.

Highlights
The Northeastern Huskies got off to a quick 8-2 lead, but the Phoenix responded with an 8-2 run of its own to take an 11-10 lead following a Thompson layup. Northeastern would quickly retake the lead 12-11 after a Walker layup with 14:29 remaining in the half.

Elon and Northeastern traded buckets over the next few minutes with the Huskies holding a slight 19-16 lead with 11:05 on the clock. The Huskies climbed ahead 35-20 using a 14-4 run over the next 6:06 to create a 15-point cushion.

The Huskies maintained a double-digit margin over the final six minutes and held a 40-29 lead at the half. Thompson led the Phoenix in scoring with nine points at the break.

The Phoenix started the second stanza strong, outscoring the Huskies 14-6 in the first 6:23 of the half to cut Northeastern’s lead to 46-43 after two Tanner Samson free throws.

After a three-pointer from Miller, Elon stormed back with a 6-1 run to cut the Huskies’ lead to one, 50-49 after a layup from Eddy at the 10:55 mark. Northeastern answered with a quick 6-2 run to create a 56-51 lead. Two free throws from Samson made it 56-53 at the 9:39 mark.

The Huskies has a 6-1 surge to create a 62-54 lead, but Elon hit right back with a 8-3 run to make it a one-point deficit 65-64 with 2:35 left in the half after a Seibring layup.

Seibring’s jumper with 1:14 remaining gave Elon a 66-65 lead and four free throws from Samson and Thompson extended the lead to 70-65 with nine seconds left in the game. Northeastern made one final layup, but Samson made one from the line to secure Elon’s 71-67 victory in Boston.

Notes
– It was the first time this season that the Phoenix made less than five three-pointers in a game as a team. The Phoenix finished 3-of-28 from behind the arc against Northeastern.
– The win is the first for Elon at Matthews Arena. The Phoenix was 0-1 at Northeastern in the all-time series.
– Tyler Seibring finished with his second double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-high 11 rebounds against the Huskies.

Up Next
Elon returns to Alumni Gym for a two-game home swing next week. The Phoenix hosts Delaware on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m., followed by Towson on Saturday night for an American Sports Network showdown at 6 p.m.