Elon men’s basketball cruises past Greensboro College, builds momentum

Elon used a balanced attack and physical control to turn a one sided contest into a morale boosting performance at Schar Center on December 24. Chandler Cuthrell scored 21 points, including 15 in the first half, and Kacper Klaczek added 14 as the Phoenix led 53 to 24 at the break and closed the night with a 97 to 63 victory. The win came after an overtime loss at Virginia Tech, and provided a quick reset before conference play.

Freshman guard DeMarco Johnson, who contributed 11 points off the bench, summarized the mood succinctly. "It felt good getting this one," he said. Johnson later made clear his outlook for the season. "I have a lot to prove," Johnson said. "Coming into the CAA, we need to ball." Bryson Cokley supplied 10 points to round out the bench scoring contributions.

Coach Billy Taylor framed the result as a necessary corrective after the near miss on the road. "We knew we competed hard and you give yourself an opportunity to win on the road against an ACC opponent," Elon coach Billy Taylor said. “… To be able to play at a high level against a really good opponent and have opportunities to win that game. Definitely frustration for our guys, we felt like we kind of missed a chance. So to come back right away and have this game against Greensboro College, I’m sure it was helpful for all of us to be able to kind of move on.” He added optimism about the program heading into league play. “A lot of good stuff, a lot of positives and we can enter CAA play kind of on a high note,” Taylor said.

Elon dominated the glass, out rebounding Greensboro 51 to 23, a margin that underpinned second chance points and control of tempo. Greensboro College, which entered the game with four wins and seven losses and treated the contest as an exhibition that did not count toward its official record, received 21 points from Jalen Thomas but managed only one made three point shot in the second half after hitting seven threes in the first.

Local connections were on display as well. Senior Ryan Roberts, a Burlington School product now in his second season at Greensboro after transferring from Mount Olive, logged about 20 minutes. Savion Taylor, the coach's son, made his collegiate debut late in the game for Elon.

For Alamance County fans, the result offers both reassurance and questions. Elon leaves the holiday break with momentum and size advantages to carry into Coastal Athletic Association play, while the matchup highlighted areas to monitor, notably consistent perimeter defense and bench depth. Northeastern visits next Monday night to open conference competition, providing the first substantive gauge for how durable the Phoenix performance will be against CAA opposition.