PHILADELPHIA -- Elijah Bryant scored a career-high 32 points and hauled in seven rebounds to lead Elon to a 77-67 win over Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams Saturday.

Bryant shot 10 for 20 from the floor, sinking 3 of his 4 shots from beyond the arc, and went 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Tanner Samson added 12 points for Elon (9-5, 1-0), which is playing its inaugural season in the conference.

The Phoenix sank nine 3-pointers in the first half and broke open the game with an 11-2 burst to close out the first half and take a 46-28 advantage into the break. They finished with 11 of 20 from long range.

Drexel (2-10, 0-1) opened the second half with a 9-2 spurt that narrowed the gap to 48-37 but couldn't overtake Elon down the stretch.

Damion Lee led the Dragons with 29 points.