Donavan Monroe had a career-high 29 points to lead the Cougars to a 80-77 victory over Elon on Thursday night in front of 3,023 at the Carolina First Arena.

“I just wanted to come out with a lot of energy. Lately, I’ve been struggling. I wanted to come out and do I best I could. It sucks when you’ve been struggling like that,” said Monroe, who also added 6 rebounds.

Monroe had 22 points in the first half to support the Cougar’s 11-point halftime lead but, in the second half, the team failed to make shots and adjust to Elon’s defense.

“Elon they kept fighting. They wouldn’t go away,” said Andrew Goudelock, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

After a dismal performance last year against Elon, where the College was held to only 8 points in the first half, the College had a lot of energy going into the game.

“[Last year’s loss] was in the back of everybody’s mind. We came out with a little more energy,” said Goudelock.

Elon’s defense held the College to just four 3-pointers, and they even managed to shut down the Southern Conference 3-point shooting leader Goudelock, who did not make a single shot from behind the arc or a single first half bucket.

“I was proud of Goudelock driving in the lane. He missed one I thought he had, but he made some nice drives. I thought he made some great passes, too, but we need him to score,” said coach Bobby Cremins, whose team improved to 12-3 in the conference and 17-9 overall. “Defenses are doing a good job on Goudelock and it’s messing with him a little bit.”

Goudelock saw that Monroe was making shots and wanted to let him succeed.

“I was trying to get the team on the ball,” he said. “It was more important for them to get better. Plus, Donavan was hot. I wanted to get out of his way.”

The Cougars were coming off a loss to crosstown rival The Citadel on Monday.

“Obviously, we’re not the same. Why we’re not the same, I don’t know. Some of it could be fatigue,” said Cremins.

Tony White, Jr. had 10 points, including one from behind the arc. Jeremy Simmons had 8 points and 9 rebounds. Simmons is looking forward to a break before the Cougars take on Appalachian State in the final home game next Wednesday.

“We get a day to rest and regroup,” he said.

Cremins was happy for a win but disappointed with the team’s performance, who was unable to put away the 6-17 Phoenix.

“We were fortunate tonight. We got the victory and that’s great, but we have to play better. We hung in there and got the win and I’m happy about that.”