ELON, N.C. - On a night where neither team shot the ball well, Appalachian State University men's basketball sank three free throws when it counted to ice a 58-54 win at Elon on Monday. The win clinched the Southern Conference North's top seed for next month's tournament as well as no less than a share of the division title.

The Mountaineers' (18-11, 11-5 SoCon) string of 16-straight games with a 40 percent field goal percentage came to an end, but a gritty effort and a 27-11 second-half rebound margin proved to be the difference as ASU won its sixth game in the last seven outings.

The sixth and final tie of the contest came with four minutes to play at 49-49. Isaac Butts then made a pair of free throws and was followed by a Donald Sims free throw with 3:05 on the clock to bolster the lead to four points.

The Phoenix (9-20, 5-11) responded with a free throw before Josh Hunter put back an offensive rebound to put the Apps up 55-50 with just 1:40 remaining in regulation. Elon's Adam Constantine responded with a layup at the other end and a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to 55-54 with just 41 ticks left.

Appalachian advanced the ball into the front court where Jeremi Booth was fouled and sank 1-of-2 foul shots with 32 seconds remaining. Down by two points and with the shot clock turned off, Chris Long brought up the ball for Elon and attempted a runner from the right baseline to tie the game with 19 seconds on the clock. Booth grabbed the rebound off the glass and made an outlet to Sims for two more free throws two seconds later.

Sims knocked down both shots to improve to 6-of-8 from the line on the night before Elon received the ball for one final possession. Booth deflected a pass out of bounds and Hunter grabbed the game's final rebound to secure the 58-54 win.

Sims bounced back from a rough first half to finish the game with a game-high 25 points. He was just 3-of-8 from the field, 0-for-3 from downtown and missed two free throws in the first 20 minutes. After the intermission, he drained 5-of-10 shots and three treys for 15 points. The guard six rebounds and an assist in the contest.

Butts recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 11 boards. Hunter battled early foul trouble to score eight of his 10 points and grab six of his seven rebounds in the second half.

Constantine led the Phoenix with 13 points and seven rebounds while Long dished out seven assists and swiped two steals. TJ Douglas added 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting to go along with six boards, an assist and a steal.

ASU finished the game with a 46-27 advantage on the glass and converted 15 offensive boards into 17 second-chance points, while Elon was held to just six points on four offensive rebounds. The Apps hit just 3-of-15 three-point attempts on the evening compared to 6-of-21 for EU.

Both squads struggled from the charity stripe, shooting a combined 31-of-51 from the line.

Appalchian returns home to close out the regular season later this week. The squad hosts Chattanooga on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Samford on Saturday at 3 p.m. A win in either game or a Western Carolina loss would give the Mountaineers an outright division title.