Georgia Southern defeats Elon

ELON, N.C. - Jean Francois scored 19 points and had four steals Saturday to lift Georgia Southern past Elon 72-64.

Terry Williams and Elton Nesbitt each scored 13 for the Eagles (11-7, 5-2 Southern Conference), who shot 60 percent in the second half to overcome a 31-29 deficit at the break.

Scottie Rice scored 20 points for the Phoenix (2-17, 0-6).

Elon led by 10 points early, but Georgia Southern closed the gap to two points at halftime. Then, after Elon had taken a 36-31 lead, the Eagles used a 28-11 run to go ahead to stay.

Willie Dunn ended the spurt with a layup, giving Georgia Southern a 59-47 lead with 9:31 to play. Elon managed to close the deficit to 63-59, but the Eagles scored eight of the next 10 points to put the game away.

Elon shot 37 percent for the game.