Darius Burford’s big finish isn’t enough as Elon falls to Delaware in 20th loss of season

ELON — Darius Burford’s big second half wasn’t enough to lift Elon to victory Thursday night.

The Phoenix fell to Delaware 71-62 in Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball at Schar Center, and suffered its 20th loss on the season.

Jameer Nelson Jr. provided 17 points for the visiting Blue Hens, who got 13 points from Ryan Allen, 12 points from Kevin Anderson and 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Jyare Davis.

Burford, the sophomore guard, pumped in 19 if his 21 points during the second half, and delivered his fifth 20-point game of the season.

Hunter McIntosh added 16 points for Elon, but struggled to 6-for-22 shooting from the field. Michael Graham chipped in nine points and nine rebounds for the Phoenix (8-20 overall, 5-10 CAA) and coach Mike Schrage.

McIntosh went 2-for-11 from 3-point range, part of Elon’s 4-for-22 shooting from beyond the arc. The Phoenix missed its first nine 3-pointers, before Burford connected during the opening minute of the second half.

Elon shot just 24.1 percent from the field in the first half, before finishing at 34.4 percent from the field on the night. Delaware, under coach Martin Ingelsby, led 25-18 by halftime, and pulled ahead 34-23 on Andrew Carr’s bucket in the first 3½ minutes of the second half.

From there, Elon climbed within two points of the Blue Hens on three occasions – Burford’s free throws with 13:02 remaining, Andrew Junkin’s put-back with 11:34 left, and McIntosh’s jumper with 11:03 to go – but couldn’t get back within one possession of Delaware across the game’s final 10 minutes.

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Foul trouble factored for the Phoenix. The 6-foot-8 Graham and guard Zac Ervin fouled out, and forwards Chuck Hannah and Hunter Woods finished with four fouls apiece.

Elon plays host to Drexel (13-12, 8-7) on Saturday at Schar Center in its final home game of the season. Drexel defeated Elon 77-49 last month in Philadelphia in the first meeting of the season between the teams.

Road assignments next week at Hofstra and Northeastern finish the regular season for the Phoenix, before the CAA Tournament begins March 5.

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This article originally appeared on Times-News: Elon basketball gets big half from Darius Burford in loss to Delaware