ELON, N.C. – Winners of 10 of its last 11 games, the Elon University men’s basketball team embarks on its final road swing of the regular season this week, beginning with a Thursday night contest at Samford. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. (eastern) at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala.
Elon (18-8, 11-3 SoCon) at Samford (10-17, 8-6 SoCon)
Site: Birmingham, Ala.
Arena (Capacity): Pete Hanna Center (5,000)
Series: Samford leads, 7-2
Last Meeting: February 2, 2013, at Elon – Elon won, 77-66
THE SERIES: Thursday night marks the 10th all-time meeting between Elon and Samford. The Bulldogs lead the series, 7-2. Elon is 0-4 all-time in games played at the Pete Hanna Center and Samford has won the four meetings by an average of 14.3 points.
LAST MEETING: Lucas Troutman reached the 1,000-point milestone on Feb. 2 in Alumni Gym, as the Phoenix defeated the Bulldogs, 77-66. Troutman tied a career-high with 26 points to go along with 10 boards and six blocked shots. Jack Isenbarger scored 22 points for Elon, which shot 49 percent from the field in the win. The Phoenix also turned the ball over just eight times in the victory.
LOOKING BACK: Elon battled Western Carolina to an 80-73 overtime win on Feb. 16 inside Alumni Gym. WCU rallied from 12 points down in the second half to take a late lead, but the Phoenix tied the game in the waning moments of regulation to force overtime. Elon outscored the Catamounts, 16-9, in overtime – the team’s third game in OT this season and first since Dec. 15 at UMass. Ryley Beaumont led the Phoenix with 19 points and nine rebounds.
LOOKING AHEAD: Following Thursday night’s contest at Samford, Elon shuffles off to Chattanooga, Tenn., to face the Chattanooga Mocs on Saturday night at McKenzie Arena. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be aired live on ESPN3.
BEAUMONT HONORED: Ryley Beaumont was tabbed the Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Beaumont led the Phoenix to wins over Appalachian State and Western Carolina last week, averaging 20.5 points and 11.0 rebounds during the two-game stretch. Beaumont also shot 63 percent from the field for the maroon and gold. The weekly league accolade marks the first for Beaumont. Lucas Troutman has picked up the honor twice already this season.
BLOCK PARTY: Lucas Troutman became Elon’s all-time leader in blocked shots on Saturday, Feb. 16, against Western Carolina. The Belton, S.C., native registered four blocks to pass Eric Hairston for first on Elon’s all-time chart. Troutman now has 145 blocks in his career. He leads the Southern Conference with 54 (2.2 per game) blocks this season and needs two more to set the single-season school record.
ROAD TO ASHEVILLE: The 2013 Southern Conference Tournament is scheduled for March 8-11, 2013, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C. If the tournament started today, Elon would earn the No. 2 overall seed and a first-round bye.