Drew Spradlin scored 20 points and Elon shut down Furman in the second half for a 77-70 win Wednesday night in the Southern Conference opener for both teams.
The win was Elon's first in a conference opener since beating Western Carolina 59-49 on Nov. 27, 2007.
The Phoenix (4-2) used a 10-3 run to close out the first half and lead 38-32 at the break. Elon then extended its lead to 51-43 with 11:49 remaining.
The Paladins (3-3) would fight back to make it a one-point game, 58-57, with 7:49 left. However, Elon answered with a Spradlin 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 Phoenix run.
Furman shot just 35 percent in the second half (14 of 40), after connecting on 46.2 percent in the first (12 of 26). The Paladins were 4 of 16 from 3-point range in the second half.
Charlie Reddick led the Paladins with 22 points.
