Drew Spradlin scored 13 points for Elon, which held on for a 56-55 win against Princeton on Tuesday night.
Sebastian Koch added 11 points for the Phoenix (3-1), including a 3-pointer to put them up 56-49 with just less than four minutes remaining. But Elon never scored another basket, putting its lead in jeopardy with four unsuccessful shots from the floor, three turnovers and a miss from the foul line.
The Tigers (1-3) rallied, pulling within the final margin when Ian Hummer connected on a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left. But Douglas Davis couldn't make his 3-point attempt at the buzzer fall for the Tigers, sealing their fate.
Elon led 33-25 at the break but was outscored 30-23 by Princeton in the second half.
Hummer led the Tigers with 18 points and Davis added 12.
Egheosa Edomwonyi chipped in 10 points for Elon.
