Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
ELON – The Elon men’s basketball team ended the game on a 10-0 run over the final 3:46 to stun Campbell 83-82 Saturday night at the Schar Center. Randall Pettus II scored the go-ahead basket on a layup with 1:38 remaining, giving Elon (11-6, 3-1 CAA) its first and only lead of the contest. The Phoenix then came up with three defensive stops in the final 90 seconds – including a steal by Kacper Klaczek – to secure its second straight Coastal Athletic Association victory.
The Fighting Camels (9-9, 3-2) led by as many as 12 points in the first half and held a narrow edge for more than 18 minutes of the second half before the final moments swung in Elon’s favor. Four Phoenix reached double figures, as Klaczek and Chandler Cuthrell scored 20 points apiece, while Pettus and Ja’Juan Carr each added 17, accounting for 74 of Elon’s 83 points.
Elon trailed 43-37 at halftime before responding with a strong second half, scoring 46 points on 61.8 percent (21-of-34) shooting from the floor. The Phoenix finished the game shooting 56.5 percent overall while knocking down 9-of-19 from three-point range, led by a season-high three triples from Cuthrell.
The Phoenix held Campbell scoreless over the final 4:02 as the closing surge took shape. The run began with another Pettus layup to trim the deficit to 82-75, before Cuthrell and Klaczek converted layups on back-to-back possessions over an 11-second span. Cuthrell then delivered the defining play of the night, picking the pocket of Dovydas Butka and going coast-to-coast for a fast-break dunk to pull Elon within one.
Campbell was led by DJ Smith, who finished with 32 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers and adding four assists. Cameron Gregory contributed 16 points, while Jeremiah Johnson added 13.
Elon treks north next week to face Northeastern and Hofstra. The road trip starts in Boston when the Phoenix faces Northeastern on Thursday, Jan. 15, with tipoff at 7 p.m. at the Chabot Center.
