Vannatta's 17 leads UNC-Asheville past Elon 78-67

Dec 6, 2016, 09:52 pm

ELON, N.C. -- Kevin Vannatta scored 17 points, Ahmad Thomas 16 and freshman MaCio Teague added 15 as the University of North Carolina-Asheville defeated Elon 78-67 Tuesday night for its third straight win.

The Bulldogs (6-3) forced 15 Elon turnovers with 11 steals, including four by Thomas, who has scored in double figures in all nine games this season.

UNC-Asheville took the lead a little over a minute into the game and pushed it into double figures midway through the opening half.

The Phoenix (6-3) closed to two points, 45-43, when Dainian Swoope and Steven Santa Ana hit consecutive 3-pointers during a 20-7 run to start the second half.

Vannatta made back-to-back scores -- a jumper and a three-point play -- pushing the lead back to seven a little more than a minute later. Raekwon Miller followed with a 3-pointer after Thomas steal, pushing the lead into double digits.

Tyler Seibring scored a career-best 21 for Elon.