Matchup with Wesley Awaits Elon Men’s Basketball at Alumni Gym on Sunday

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team begins a three-game home stand on Sunday, Dec. 13, as they host the Wesley College Wolverines at 2 p.m. in Alumni Gym.

The game will broadcasted live on Phoenix All-Access with Justin Biegel and Adam Constantine on the call. You can also listen to the game live on WSML 104.5 FM/1200 AM with Taylor Durham and John Roddey on the Elon IMG Sports Network. Pre-game coverage on WSML in Alumni Gym begins at 1:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Behind the play of Christian Hairston and Luke Eddy, the Elon University men’s basketball team rallied down the stretch to claim a 77-71 road win over FIU on Friday, Dec. 4, at FIU Arena.

Trailing by six with 4:06 to play in the game, the Phoenix went on an 18-6 run, led by the junior tandem of Hairston and Eddy, who made Elon’s final seven field goal makes from the floor to help secure the win over FIU. Over the final 3:43 of the game, the maroon and gold went 7-of-7 from the field. Tanner Samson became Elon’s all-time leader in three-point field goal makes in the victory, passing Jack Isenbarger for first in school history.

Elon shot 45 percent from the floor on the night, connecting on 12-of-36 (33 percent) from three-point range in the victory. In the second half, the Phoenix shot 49 percent from the floor. The Phoenix overcame a hot-shooting Panthers team that made 51 percent from the floor by forcing a total of 16 turnovers. Elon only turned the ball over seven times against the Panthers, the first game with less than 10 turnovers for the Phoenix.

SAMSON CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Tanner Samson was named CAA Player of the Week, Dec. 7, after averaging 23 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in Elon’s wins over Kennesaw State and FIU last week.

The Littleton, Colo. native poured in career-highs of 31 points and 11 rebounds in Elon’s 103-93 overtime thriller against Kennesaw State. Samson stole the Owls’ inbounds pass in the final seconds, setting up a pass to Luke Eddy who drained three free throws to cap off Elon’s improbable comeback in the final 18.9 seconds to force overtime. On the road at FIU on Friday, Dec. 4, Samson scored 15 points on five treys, becoming the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while adding two assists and two steals in Elon’s 77-71 win.

SAMSON AMERICAN SPORTS NETWORK PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Tanner Samson was named CAA Player of the Week, Dec. 7, as selected by American Sports Network’s Mark Adams and Monica McNutt. Samson is shooting 38% this season from 3-point range with 86% of his field-goal attempts originating from behind the arc. Last season he made 103 threes, third most in CAA single-season history.

SAMSON MILESTONES
Samson became Elon’s all-time leader in career triples against FIU on Friday, Dec. 4. The senior currently has 267 made 3-pointers for the Phoenix. He surpassed Jack Isenbarger who had 264 made treys. Tanner Samson became the program’s 39th 1,000-point scorer after scoring 23 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, Nov. 27. His 705 career three-point attempts is second all-time and behind Isenbarger, who finished with 721 for his career. His 37.9 percent three-point percentage is seventh in program history.

ADDED TV GAME – FEB. 20, 2016
Elon’s scheduled game at Towson on Feb. 20, has been changed to a noon tipoff and will be an added game to the Colonial Athletic Association’s television package, as announced today, Dec. 10, by the conference office. The game will be produced by the CAA and will be carried by Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. WMYV has also agreed to air the game locally in the Greensboro, N.C., market. The original tipoff time was set for 2 p.m. and has been changed to accommodate the addition of the game to the conference television package.

HAIRSTON ON A TEAR
After averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in the first six games of the season, Christian Hairston has averaged 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over his last two games. He recorded his second-career double-double, with career-highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds vs. Kennesaw State. He scored16 at FIU, including 10 points down the stretch against the Panthers in the 77-71 victory on Friday.

LET IT FLY
This season, 36.4 percent of Elon’s made baskets have come from behind the three point line. The Phoenix is shooting 32.6 percent from deep and are averaging 9.8 threes a game. Tanner Samson has a team-high 25 made treys this season, while Dainan Swoope is right behind him with 22. Nine other Phoenix have made a bucket from deep this season.

302 AND COUNTING
The Elon men’s basketball program has made at least one three-point field goal in 302 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The Phoenix currently average 9.8 mades three pointers a game this season. The last time Elon did not make a three in a game was Jan. 30, 2006, at Georgia Southern when the team went 0-of-14 from deep.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues its home stand this week with a matchup on Wednesday, Dec. 16, against Alabama State at 7 p.m., followed by against the UNCG Spartans on Friday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m. Elon will be back on the road the following week at UNC Asheville on Dec. 21 and at Duke on Dec. 28.