Elon Men’s Basketball Routs Randolph College 99-63 in Preseason Exhibition

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball had four players score in double figures and put in a solid defensive performance en route to a 99-63 victory in its lone exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 1, against Randolph College to tip off the final season inside Alumni Gym.

BOX SCORE

Karolis Kundrotas led the way with a double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Dainan Swoope added a game-high 17 points, Sheldon Eberhardt scored 14 points and Dmitri Thompson chipped in 13 points of his own. Tyler Seibring tied Kundrotas with a game-high 11 rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists for the Phoenix. The WildCats were led by Sammy Hooper, scored 16 points and made a game-high four three pointers.

“I thought it was a good night,” said head coach Matt Matheny. “The win of course is good but I thought our guys were ready to play and focused and attentive to detail. I thought we competed at the level we’re going to have to compete. We made mistakes, but for the first 20 minutes I thought we were really locked in and did some good things, regardless of who we put in there.”

HIGHLIGHTS
Elon took a 13-7 lead into the first media timeout at the 15:23 mark, which included three pointers from Swoope, Kundrotas and Thompson. Hooper drained a quick three 15 seconds later for the Wildcats to make it a 13-10 contest, but that’s the closest Randolph College would get to the Phoenix the rest of the way.

The Phoenix closed out the half with a 23-3 run over the final seven minutes to take a 30-point lead, 57-27, at the break. Elon held the Wildcats to just 30 percent shooting from the floor and scored 17 points off 10 Randolph College turnovers in the half.

Elon built up to its largest lead in the contest of 39 points just 10 minutes into the second half after freshman guard Nathan Priddy drained a triple to put the Phoenix in front 82-43 at the 9:18 mark.

The maroon and gold continued to hold on to its large lead over the final minutes, not allowing the Wildcats to make a field goal over the final four minutes. The Phoenix’s lead built up to a 38 points in the final minute, and Elon closed out the victory against Randolph College to tip off the final season in Alumni Gym.

The Phoenix defensively held Randolph College to 30 percent shooting, including 28 percent from three. Elon finished at a 46 percent clip from the floor and made 13 triples against the Wildcats. The maroon and gold capitalized with 28 points off 20 Randolph College turnovers.

NOTES
– Elon is now 11-0 in exhibition contests with head coach Matt Matheny at the helm.
– The Phoenix did not allow the WildCats to make a field goal in over seven minutes during the second half to take a 43-point lead.
– Elon had 14 of its players see the floor during the exhibition, which included seven scoring six or more points. In addition to the four players in double figures, Seth Fuller chipped in nine points, Seibring added seven, and Priddy scored six for the Phoenix.
– The Phoenix improves to 2-0 in exhibitions against Randolph College with the win.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix opens the 2017-18 season on Friday, Nov. 10, on the road against the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium will tip off at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.