ELON, N.C. – A 14-0 second-half run lifted the Elon men’s basketball team to its eighth con win following a 78-49 decision over the Furman Paladins on Monday night, Feb. 24, at Timmons Arena. Elon (18-11, 11-3 Southern Conference) ties the 2005-06 Phoenix squad for the longest winning streak at the Division I level.
Jack Isenbarger became Elon’s all-time leader in three-pointers made in the victory, passing Chris Kiger’s 16-year record of 259. Isenbarger nailed two shots from beyond the arc in the win and now sits at 261 for his career.
“As a team, we played well from the start tonight,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We made mistakes early but we were leaning forward and aggressive. It was a team victory and played within our system and imposed our will for the greater part of 40 minutes.”
Lucas Troutman had another big night for the maroon and gold, scoring a game-high 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and hauling down seven boards.
Elon shot 54 percent for the game on 32-of-59 field goals, putting a total of 12 players in the scoring column.
The Phoenix stifled the Paladins defensively, holding the opposition to 30 percent shooting from the field on 15-of-50 field goal attempts. Elon finished the game with 25 points off 15 turnovers by Furman.
Elon took a 10-point lead and forced a Furman timeout with 5:05 left after Koch nailed a three-pointer off a missed free throw by Troutman to give Elon a 24-14 edge.
Less than a minute later, Isenbarger nailed his first triple of the game with 4:11 to play to give Elon a 27-14 lead and become the program’s all-time leader in threes made.
Elon led 32-22 at the break, shooting 42 percent in the first 20 minutes and limiting the Paladins to a 31-percent clip on 8-of-26 field goals.
The Phoenix began the second session on an 8-2 run, taking a 40-24 lead with 15:43 left. Elon led by as many as 32 points in the second frame, securing its eighth consecutive win overall and fifth straight road win.
Tonight’s win marks the largest margin of victory on the road this season. Elon’s 24 conference wins over the last two years are the most since the 1939-40 and 1940-41 seasons.
The Phoenix closes out the regular season this week with a pair of home games. Elon welcomes Wofford to Alumni Gym on Thursday night, Feb. 27, before its regular season finale on Saturday, March 1, against Davidson.