Elon Men’s Basketball Makes History With 126-78 Win Over Central Penn

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team not only reached the century mark for the 59th time in program history, but set the school record for points in a game, as the Phoenix claimed a 126-78 win over the visiting Central Penn Knights on Thursday, Dec. 19, inside Alumni Gym.

Elon (6-6) knocked down a whopping 51 of its 87 field goal attempts (56 percent) en route to a new benchmark in points with 126. The previous mark for points in a game was 124 in 1955 versus DuPont.

Elon has now scored over 100 points in a game twice this season, which not been done since the 1988-89 season. The Phoenix has started the season 5-1 at home for the third straight year, as the team has won 12 of its last 14 games at Alumni Gym.

“We knew tonight would be chaotic,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We played pretty well and we were aggressive for all 40 minutes tonight and for the first time since I’ve been here, we won all 10 rounds in a game. It was a great win and it was outstanding to see our community come out and support us the way that they did.”

Elon put six in double figures, as Sebastian Koch led the Phoenix with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Ryley Beaumont recorded his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 boards, while Lucas Troutman and Tanner Samson finished with 16 and 14, respectively.

Kevin Blake and Christian Hairston came up big off the bench for Elon, scoring 13 and 10, respectively, to round out six players in double figures.

Elon out-rebounded CPC, 61-35, and dominated the Knights in the paint by a 78-20 margin. Tonight was the first time since Dec. 5, 2005, against Guilford that Elon grabbed more than 60 boards in a game. The Phoenix grabbed 67 against the Quakers in 2005.

The Phoenix recorded 20+ assists in a game tonight for the first time since Jan. 24 last season when it had 20 against Chattanooga. Elon had 25 tonight, as Austin Hamilton led the way with five.

The Phoenix carried a 20-point lead, 56-36, into the locker room at intermission after dominating the Knights in the paint, 38-8, in the first 20 minutes of play. Beaumont scored 12 in the opening frame on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, while CPC’s Andres Battes scored 18 for the Knights.

Elon kept its foot on the gas to open the second half, taking a 31-point lead with 13:24 to play on a Kevin Blake basket to make it a 79-48 game. The maroon and gold increased its lead by as many as 51 points down the stretch.

Central Penn’s Andres Battle scored a game-high 31 points. Battle is fourth player to score 30+ points against Elon in a game during Matheny’s tenure.

Elon returns to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fla., against Florida Atlantic.