ELON, N.C. — William & Mary men's basketball fell short at Elon in a narrow 79-76 defeat on Thursday night at the Schar Center. 

The Tribe (14-7, 5-4 CAA) led by a seven, 44-37, at the half, but the Phoenix shot 53.6% from the field in the final 20 minutes to rally back for the victory. 

Sophomore Ryan Jackson, Jr. led the Tribe with 13 points, his highest career output in a CAA game. He was 6-of-8 from the floor and added four rebounds. Graduate student Cade Haskins posted 12 points, converting four 3-pointers in the game, while senior Chase Lowe recorded 12 points and collected six rebounds. 

W&M took control in the opening half thanks to a 16-0 run. Jackson, Jr. scored four straight before the Tribe hit four consecutive 3-pointers. Haskins hit a pair and his triple at the 10:02 mark gave W&M a 29-17 lead and forced an Elon timeout. 

The Tribe led 44-37 at the break thanks to shooting 54.5% from the field, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range. 

A 7-0 Elon (13-9, 5-4 CAA) run cut to margin to two just 3:22 into the second half. A Ned Hull 3-pointer closed the gap to 49-47 with 16:38 to play. 

Senior Finn Lally answered with a triple for the Tribe as part of five in a row from the Australian to stretch the lead back to seven, 54-47, just a minute later. 

The Phoenix closed within a point, 62-61, on a Randall Pettus II lay-up at the 9:25 mark. Elon took its first lead since early in the first half on a Ja'Juan Carr bucket with 4:36 left. 

Jackson, Jr. answered with a corner 3-pointer on the ensuing Tribe possession, but the game was knotted at 73 with 3:31 remaining on a fast-break layup from Chandler Cuthrell.  

W&M briefly moved back in front on a Kyle Pulliam free throw, but back-to-back buckets from Bryson Cokley in transition and Cuthrell in the post put the home team on top for good at 77-74 with 1:34 remaining. 

The Tribe had three chances to tie the game in the closing minute, but missed a pair of shots and turned the ball over as Elon held on for the win. 

W&M finished the game at 46.6% (27-of-58) shooting, including 11-of-30 (36.7%) from 3, and 11-of-14 (78.6%) at the free throw line. Pulliam turned in a strong stat line with eight points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Kilian Brockhoff, Reese Miller, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, and Lally each scored seven. 

Cuthrell led all scorers with 18 points, hitting 6-of-11 field goals and converting 6-of-7 free throws. He also contributed seven rebounds. Cokley and Hull each finished with 14 points. Carr distributed the ball recording seven assists alongside six points and six rebounds. Isaac Harrell added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and collected five rebounds, while Pettus II tallied three steals and 12 points. 

Elon shot 49.2% (30-of-61) from the field, including 10-of-24 (41.7%) from 3-point range. The Phoenix held a slim 34-33 advantage on the glass, and the forced W&M into 13 turnovers converting those into 15 points. 

Up Next 
The Tribe returns home to welcome Campbell to Kaplan Arena on Saturday afternoon for the 11th annual Gold Rush. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a FREE Gold Rush t-shirt. Tip-off is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network with Jake Marsh and Martin Bahar on the call. Tribe fans can tune into the Tribe Sports Network with Andrew Phillips and Bobby Dwyer on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM is the flagship station of the Tribe Sports Network.