ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team treks to nearby Harrisonburg, Va., on Saturday, Jan. 17, for an 8 p.m. contest against the Dukes of James Madison. The game will be televised on the American Sports Network. Check local listings for availability in your area.
ELON VS. JMU: Elon and James Madison have never met on the hardwood prior to Saturday’s game in Harrisonburg. The two schools did not have a common non-conference opponent this season.
LOOKING BACK: Elon dropped a 66-50 decision to College of Charleston on Jan. 14. The 50 points and 17 field goal makes were the lowest in a game for Elon this season. Elon went without a three-point make in the second period, as the Cougars pulled away behind the play of sophomore guard Canyon Barry. Tanner Samson, the CAA’s leader in three-point makes, went scoreless for the first time since Jan. 4, 2013, at Western Carolina.
CAREER DAY: Elijah Bryant’s 32 points at Drexel on Jan. 3 are the most by an Elon player since Jack Isenbarger’s 34 vs. The Citadel on Feb. 4, 2012. Bryant is the first Phoenix player with 10 or more field goals in a game since Lucas Troutman had 11 in Elon’s overtime win at Davidson last season.
FROM DEEP: Tanner Samson sits at 195 in his career entering Saturday’s game, good for sixth in school history. Samson needs five threes to pass Chris Chalko for fifth in school history. The junior from Littleton, Colo., ranks first in the CAA in threes made with 56 (fifth nationally) and three-point attempts with 152 (third nationally).
HEAD COACH MATT MATHENY: The 2014-15 season marks the sixth year at Elon for head coach Matt Matheny. Matheny enters Saturday’s game with a career record of 87-90. Matheny was voted by the Southern Conference media as the Coach of the Year in 2012-13 and was a finalist for CollegeInsider.com’s Hugh Durham award, which honors the nation’s top mid-major coach.
ROAD TO BALTIMORE: The 2015 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 6-9 in Baltimore, Md., at Royal Farms Arena. Last year, Delaware topped William & Mary, 75-74, in the championship game to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.