Created: 11/29/2009 8:46:50 PM 
ELON, N.C. - The Elon men's basketball team struggled from the field in the opening half and couldn't dig out of a 22-point hole as the Phoenix fell to the visiting UNC Wilmington Seahawks, 86-56, in non-conference action from Alumni Gym on Sunday night. Elon (2-5) was led by sophomore Terrance Birdette's 13 points, while UNCW (3-4) had five players score in double figures.
"I thought we had a great crowd tonight who stayed behind us the entire game," commented Elon head coach Matt Matheny. "Right now, it feels like we are playing with handcuffs - we are competing hard, but our guys are still learning the system which causes us to play tentatively. Because we play tentatively, when we make mistakes things can snowball. We need to be tougher when we face that adversity."
Birdette, who had scored a combined 22 points in his career prior to this season, has now scored 24 points over the last two games. The guard also picked up five rebounds, three on the offensive glass. Sophomore Josh Bonney, who was forced to the bench in the opening minute of the game due to foul trouble, scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Senior Adam Constantine added 12 points for the Phoenix. Senior TJ Douglas grabbed a career-best 11 boards, including five on the offensive end of the floor. Elon pulled down 21 offensive boards in the contest.
Seahawk center John Fields hit 7-of-9 field goals for 14 points, while also leading the squad with nine rebounds. Montez Downey came off the bench to add 14 tallies in 18 minutes of action. Dominique Lacy (12), Chad Tomko (12) and Johnny Wolf (10) also scored in double figures for the visitors.
UNC Wilmington never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the game. Elon battled back to make it 8-6 on the strength of back-to-back jumpers by Drew Spradlin. Four straight points by Fields stretched the Seahawk lead back to six, but layups by Constantine and Chris Long kept the Phoenix close at 12-10 with 11:30 remaining in the first half.
Two Downey three-pointers were the bookends on a 22-4 Seahawk run, lifting UNCW to a 34-14 advantage with just under six minutes to play before the break. Elon managed to score four quick points, but the Seahawks earned the final three buckets of the half and took a 40-18 lead into the locker room.
Elon shot a dismal 25 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, compared to a 50 percent effort by UNC Wilmington. The Phoenix did not hit a triple in the first half for the first time this year.
UNC Wilmington outscored Elon 12-4 over the first three minutes of the final half, opening up a 52-22 advantage at the 17:03 mark. Bonney was quick to make his presence know when he returned to the floor, scoring five of the next seven in a Phoenix run, but the damage was already done. A Bonney three ball with 8:13 on the clock pulled Elon within 21, but the Phoenix would get no closer.
The Seahawks were dominant in the paint, netting 48 points in the lane compared to 26 by the Phoenix. Elon shot 33.3 percent for the contest while UNCW connected on 53.7 percent from the field, including 7-of-13 (53.8) from beyond the arc.
Elon opens up Southern Conference play as well as begins a four-game road stretch when the Phoenix heads to Birmingham, Ala., to battle the Samford Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 8:30 p.m. (EST)
