WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Junior guard Kris Wooten's three-pointer in front of the Elon bench as time expired propelled the Phoenix over host UNCW, 80-77, in the regular season Colonial Athletic Association finale for both teams late Saturday at Trask Coliseum.

The Phoenix won their fourth in a row to close out the season and improved to 7-8 overall and 4-7 in the CAA. The Seahawks lost their fourth straight and fell to 7-9 and 1-6.

UNCW opens play as the No. 10 seed in the 2021 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship next Saturday, March 6, with a 7 p.m. matchup against No. 7 William & Mary. The two teams had their regular season series canceled due to Covid-19. Elon will be the No. 8 seed in the event and takes on No. 9 Towson in the tournament opener at 3 p.m.

In Saturday's game, the Phoenix jumped ahead 20-3 in the first five minutes before the Seahawks roared back to grab the lead several times in the second half. With the game knotted at 77-all, Wooten cashed in on his game-winner at the buzzer, setting off a wild celebration at mid-court by the Phoenix.

"I'm very proud of our guys," said first-year Head Coach Takayo Siddle. "They fought back. We could have laid down easily coming off a month layoff and not playing a game. Give a lot of credit to Elon…they had a lot to do with that. Our guys fought and put themselves in a position to win the ball game and that's all I can ask."

"I had no idea it would start like that. I knew it was possible. When it started happening, I knew what was going on. I didn't talk about it much in the huddle I told our guys not to look at the scoreboard and just keep playing possession by possession. That's what they did. We started to get some stops and get some easy baskets."

Sophomore guard Joe Pridgen led four Seahawks in double figures with a season-high 21 points. Senior guard Ty Gadsden added 20 – 16 in the second half – and senior guard Mike Okauru and sophomore guard Shykeim Phillips chipped in 12 and 11 points.
 
Freshman guard Darius Burford made his first eight field goal attempts and poured in a game-high 23 points for the Phoenix. Sophomore guard Hunter McIntosh added 17 points, Bryant transfer Ikenna Ndugba scored 13 and Wooten finished with 12.

The Phoenix led by 23 points midway through the first half when freshman forward Michael Graham connected on a layup to put Elon out front, 32-9. The Seahawks trimmed the deficit to eight points on two occasions before the Phoenix took a 45-34 lead into the break.

Elon still led, 51-42, with 16:21 remaining when the Seahawks made their move. Four different players scored in a 10-0 run over a 1:21 stretch and Gadsden's bucket at 14:54 gave the Seahawks their first lead of the contest, 52-51.

With the Phoenix ahead, 77-74, Gadsden converted an old-fashioned three-point play to square the game with 45 seconds left. After a missed field goal by Elon, the Seahawks turned the ball over, setting up Wooten's game-winner.

Gadsden made four free throws to raise his total to 48 consecutive on the season, breaking Willie Taylor's CAA-record 45 straight free throws for VCU in 2000-01. Gadsden ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage, making 65-of-68 charity tosses for 95.6 percent.

GAMES NOTES: Phillips made his first appearance of the season (16:41 in first period) after missing the opening 15 games with an injury…Elon now leads the series, 13-12…It was Wooten's first game since Jan. 3 at Northeastern...The teams have split 14 games since the Phoenix joined the CAA during the 2014-15 season…UNCW outrebounded Elon, 34-32…The two teams combined for 74 points in the paint…Gadsden has reached double figures in scoring in five straight games…Sophomore guard Jake Boggs matched his season high with eight rebounds…The Seahawks shot better than 50 percent (.509) for the third time this season…There were six ties and 10 lead changes in the second half alone…Elon turned the ball over a season-low four times…UNCW's starters scored 66 of the team's 77 points…UNCW outscored Elon in the second half, 43-35...The game marked the first time fans were allowed in the arena this season.