Men's Hoops Falls to Elon in CAA Tourney

Saturday, March 7

Washington, D.C.

6:30 p.m.

James Madison University

9-21,2-16CAA

Elon

12-20,7-11CAA

James Madison

Elon

3/7/2020 11:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Elon graduate student Marcus Sheffield II hit a pull-up jumper with three seconds to play on Saturday night, ending James Madison's season with a 63-61 loss in the Colonial Athletic Association First Round at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.

Elon (12-20) led for only the final seconds on the night, after the Dukes held the Phoenix to just 40% (24-of-60) shooting and an 8-for-29 (27.6%) night from the three-point line, but JMU shot just 37.5% (9-of-24) in the second half in the loss.

Junior guard Matt Lewis led the way for the Dukes again, racking up 17 points, three rebounds and three steals on the night, while sophomore Deshon Parker and junior Dwight Wilson each added 11 points.

Freshman Hunter Woods led five Elon players in double figures with 15 points and seven rebounds on the evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Dukes came out of the gate firing, jumping out to a 14-0 lead before Elon scored nine straight points of its own. JMU pushed the advantage back to as much as 12 in a back-and-forth first half before going into the break with a 34-28 lead.

After halftime, JMU never pushed the lead to double digits, but didn't trail as the teams exchanged runs throughout the second period. The Dukes took a 60-53 lead with 2:46 to play, but Elon immediately used an 8-1 run to tie things up. After a lengthy review of a rebound off a JMU jumpshot, the Phoenix took possession and Sheffield was able to knock down the gamewinner from the left elbow.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"I thought the guys did everything I asked them to do. We played hard and were really patient offensively and stuck to the game plan defensively. Down the stretch, Elon got loose for a couple of threes, which was their game plan, because they kept shooting them. It's honestly just really unfortunate for these guys and this team because they did an incredible job. Sheftfield is a really, really good player and I thought we did a good job on him and Macintosh, but then he ends up hitting one late. It's unfortunate because you walk into the locker room and guys have their heads hanging low and you're just hurt."