Elon Men’s Basketball Hosts William Peace in 2016-17 Season Opener

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team opens the 2016-17 season hosting the William Peace Pacers on Friday night, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.

Game Notes

COVERAGE
Watch the action on Phoenix All-Access as Matt Krause and Bryan Anderson will be on the broadcast. You can also listen to the action on the Elon IMG Sports Network on 104.5 FM, 1200 AM or on the TuneIn app. Taylor Durham and Ryan Meizinger will have the call from Alumni Gym.

VETERANS DAY TICKET SPECIAL
In honor of Veterans Day, all veterans and their families will be admitted free with a military ID.

NEW BAG POLICY AT ALUMNI GYM
Beginning this season, Elon University has implemented a new policy for bags entering Alumni Gym. All bags entering the arena will be checked before fans reach the ticket booths at the facility. Multiple lines will be available and there will be specific lines for fans entering with no bags.

The following items will be prohibited from Alumni Gym:
• Weapons
• Explosives
* Alcoholic beverages
• Outside food and beverages
• Smoking and tobacco products
• E-cigarettes
• Containers or coolers
• Flags on poles
• Hoverboards
• Pets (except service animals)

BASKETBALL GAME DAY
For more information on ticketing, parking and directions to Alumni Gym, please visit the Basketball Game Day web page.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first official meeting between the Phoenix and the Pacers. Elon did face William Peace in its exhibition game last season on Nov. 5, 2015 and defeated the Pacers 90-73.

ABOUT ELON
Elon returns an experienced squad of 14 players and four starters from a team that finished 16-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play in 2015-16. The Phoenix brings back 11 players who saw action in 16 or more games and six players who averaged over eight points a game last season. Elon welcomes back four starters in seniors Luke Eddy (10.5 ppg) and Christian Hairston (8.6 ppg), as well as junior Dmitri Thompson (9.9 ppg) and sophomore Tyler Seibring(9.8 ppg). Ryder Bowline and Patrick Ryan join Eddy and Hairston to make up this year’s senior class.

Elon returns 84% of its scoring from last season and 36% of those points came from the 2015-16 freshman class (Tyler Seibring, Steven Santa Ana, Dainan Swoope, Karolis Kundrotas, and Sheldon Eberhardt).

Highlighting the four returning starters is 2016 CAA All-Rookie Team selection, sophomore forward Tyler Seibring, who finished fourth on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and first in CAA points per game (11.8). Elon also made one addition in the offseason, bringing freshman guard Seth Fuller (Dublin, Ohio) into the fold. Luke Eddy and Christian Hairston will bring senior leadership on the floor. Eddy finished third in the CAA in assists last season and his 144 assists ranked 10th most in single-season program history.

SCOUTING WILLIAM PEACE
William Peace, a NCAA Division III program from Raleigh, N.C., begins the new season with four of its five starters returning from the 2015-16 season. USA South All-Conference Second Teamer Chris Thomas and USA South Conference Rookie of the Year Dakota King highlight the Pacers roster. Thomas has scored 844 points for his career and is 88 points from becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer. He also has an opportunity to become William Peace’s first 1,000-point scorer in program history.

The Pacers will field a young group in 2016-17 as nine of the 14 returners are sophomores. Expect the Pacers to have Canady, Ryan Emfinger, Thomas and King to see a lot of action on the floor for William Peace on Friday night.

UP NEXT
The Elon men’s basketball team continues the 2016-17 season on Monday, Nov. 14, hosting the Charlotte 49ers at 8 p.m. The game is the second of a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader in Alumni Gym.