Charleston, SC -- (Sports Network) - In first round action of the Southern Conference Tournament at North Charleston Coliseum, the seventh-seeded Elon Phoenix used a big second half to take care of the 10th-seeded Furman Paladins, 52-37 behind Brett James' 16 points.

Assisting James was Montell Watson, who contributed 10 points and five assists to Elon's (12-18) winning effort. Ola Atoyebi came off the bench and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.

The Paladins (7-23) shot just 23.3 percent from the field in the loss, as no player finished in double-figures. George Brozos topped the scoring sheet with eight points, and Connor Nolte chipped in seven points and eight rebounds.

In an offensive challenged opening 20 minutes, Furman took a seven-point lead late in the first half, but the Phoenix battled back to knot the score at 19 points apiece at halftime.

Elon turned in a terrific effort on both sides of the court in the final period, holding the Paladins to just four field goals and hitting half of its 20 attempts from the field in the 15-point victory.

The Phoenix caused 18 turnovers and connected on six three-pointers in the postseason win, as the squad now faces second-seeded Chattanooga in the quarterfinals.