CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) -- David Berghoefer scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as Western Carolina held off Elon 71-67 despite a frantic finish on Saturday.
Western Carolina (7-14, 2-6 Southern Conference) led by 12 with 5:29 left in the game. Elon (2-19, 0-8) went on a 9-1 run to trim its deficit to 66-62 with 1:05 remaining.
Western Carolina's Kyle Greathouse, who finished with 18 points, sank two free throws to give the Catamounts some breathing room.
Elon guard Scottie Rice, who scored a game-high 29 points, answered with a 3-pointer to make the score 68-65 with 53 seconds left.
After a Western Carolina free throw, Elon's Simon Harris tipped in an offensive rebound to cut the Phoenix deficit to 69-67 with 22 seconds left.
Negus McKenna and Greathouse were fouled on separate Catamounts possessions, but each came up 1-of-2 at the line for the final margin.
Berghoefer was 8-of-16 from the field and just 6-of-16 from the free throw line in scoring his 22 points.
