Elon MBB Hosts Saint Peter’s on Saturday Night

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball opens up the month of December completing its three-game homestand on Saturday evening, Dec. 2, against 2017 CIT CollegeInsider.com Tournament Champion Saint Peter’s inside Alumni Gym. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
Watch the Phoenix in action against the Peacocks on Phoenix All-Access or listen to the Elon IMG Sports Network broadcast on WSJS 104.5 FM and 1200 AM, or on elonphoenix.com. Matt Krause and Mason Stalph will have the call on the video broadcast. Taylor Durham and Brian Morris will call the action on the radio broadcast with the pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m.

90s NIGHT IN ALUMNI GYM
The Phoenix hosts 90s Night inside Alumni Gym on Saturday night! Hear your favorite jams from the 90s, such as Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, NSYNC, Will Smith, and much more will be on tap on Saturday night, so don’t miss it! The first 100 Elon University students in attendance will receive a FREE slap bracelet! Remember those? We’re bringing them back! It’s 90s Night – don’t miss out!

THE SERIES
• Saturday marks just the second meeting all-time between Elon and Saint Peter’s. This is the second straight season the two have met. This is the first time that Saint Peter’s has made a trip to visited Elon and the friendly confines of Alumni Gym.
• In the first-ever meeting last season, Elon defeated USF 74-61 last year on Nov. 17, 2016 inside the Sun Dome. Steven Santa Ana and Brian Dawkins led all Phoenix scorers with 13 points each. Karolis Kundrotas and Luke Eddy added 11 points apiece.

FINAL SEASON IN ALUMNI GYM
The 2017-18 season marks the 67th and final year of competition inside historic Alumni Gym as the program is set to relocate to the Schar Center for the 2018-19 campaign. Elon has just 12 home games remaining inside Alumni Gym.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Since the 2011-12 season, Elon has a 62-28 record (30-8 vs. non-conference teams) inside Alumni Gym. Elon has sold out Alumni Gym 19 times under head coach Matt Matheny, with its most recent sellout coming on Feb. 25, 2017. Matheny is 13-6 all-time in front of sellout crowds in Alumni Gym.

LAST TIME OUT
• Dmitri Thompson hit the game-winning jumper with 1:01 left in overtime and strong defensive stops at the end of regulation and on the last play in overtime guided Elon to a 79-78 victory over South Florida on Thursday night in Alumni Gym.
• Tyler Seibring came up with a massive chase-down block at the end of regulation, the Phoenix forced the Bulls to go on a scoring drought for the final 2:39 of overtime, and Dainan Swoopemade a big defensive stop on the final shot to seal the Elon victory.
• Thompson led the way tying a career-high with 23 points, shooting an efficient 8-of-14 from the floor. Brian Dawkins had a monster game on the boards grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds. Four Phoenix finished with double-figure scoring.

SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope is Elon’s leading scorer through eight games averaging 17.1 ppg and has scored in double figures seven times thus far.
• He had 20+ points in four straight games from Nov. 17-22 and averaged 23.8 ppg during that span.
• Most recently, his last 20+ point game came in a 77-74 victory over Radford on Nov. 22, when he scored 24.
• During the Black & Gold Shootout, Swoope matched a career-high with 26 points in Elon’s triple overtime win against FIU on Nov. 17, followed with a 25-point performance against Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 18 and rounded out the tournament with 20 points against Milwaukee.
• Swoope is currently eighth in the CAA in scoring averaging 17.1 ppg through eight games this season and has the most 20+ point games in the league with four this season.
• The junior point guard is also fifth in the CAA in assists averaging 3.4 dimes per game this season. He also leads the league with 26 made three-pointers this season.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
• Three Phoenix are less than 200 points away from reaching 1,000 career points. Elon currently has 39 players in program history that have reached the 1,000-point mark.
• Dmitri Thompson is the closest with 892 career points and is just 108 points away. Tyler Seibring is right behind with 857 career points and is within 143 points. Dainan Swoope as 802 career points, just 198 away.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
• All five of Elon’s starters are averaging doubles figures in this early part of the season. Swoope leads the way with 17.1 ppg, while Brian Dawkins is second averaging 12.5 ppg.
• Rounding out the starters, Dmitri Thompson is recording 11.4 ppg, Tyler Seibring is averaging 10.5, and Steven Santa Ana is at 10.0 ppg this season.
• The Phoenix has had at least three players finish in double-figures in seven games this season. The only time this season Elon had less in a game was two against Radford (11/22).

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT NOV. 30…
• The Phoenix defeated USF by a score of 79-78 in overtime on Thursday, Nov. 30, inside Alumni Gym.
• For three straight seasons since 2015, Elon has now played an overtime game inside Alumni Gym and won on Nov. 30 for three straight years.
• Elon came back from an eight-point deficit with 18 seconds to play to force overtime and defeat Kennesaw State 103-93 on Nov. 30, 2015.
• Last season, Elon defeated FIU 84-81 in an overtime thriller on Nov. 30, 2016.

WHAT A THRILLER
• Elon erased a 13-point deficit to defeat Florida International in triple overtime on Friday, Nov. 17, to open the Black & Gold Shootout.
• It was only the second triple overtime game Elon has played since becoming a Division I program in 1999-2000.
• The Phoenix improves to 2-0 in triple overtime games since becoming a Division I program. Elon defeated UNCG 112-108 in the team’s last 3OT game on Feb. 28, 2004.

A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix is off to a 5-3 mark and is currently on a two-game winning streak after wins over Radford (11/22) and South Florida (11/30).
• Elon is currently third in the CAA averaging 79.6 points per contest and averaging 11.6 made three pointers a game, which is second in the CAA and ranked in the top-15 in NCAA Division I.
• Defensively, the Phoenix has been stout, only allowing teams to shoot 42.3% from the floor, which ranks third in the CAA. Elon is also first in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 31.5 per game.
• Elon returns all five starters and its top five scorers from a team that finished 18-14 overall and placed tied for fourth in the CAA with a 10-8 mark in 2016-17.
• Four of the five starters averaged double-figure scoring last season, led by 2016-17 All-CAA Second Team forward Tyler Seibring, who averaged a team-high 14.4 ppg.
• Brian Dawkins finished second on the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg, while Steven Santa Ana and Dainan Swoope each scored 11.7 ppg. Dmitri Thompson posted 8.9 ppg as a junior last season.
• Dawkins, Thompson, Jack Anton, Jack George and Collin Luther make up this year’s senior class.
• Elon also made three additions this past offseason, bringing in freshman guard Nathan Priddyand forwards Simon Wright and Duje Radja into the fold.

SCOUTING SAINT PETER’S
• Saint Peter’s is off to a 3-3 start and is currently on a two-game winning streak heading into Saturday night. The Peacocks are coming off wins against Lafayette and Fairleigh Dickinson.
• Head coach John Dunne’s squad is back among the nation’s best in scoring defense this year as the team currently sits in the 51st spot nationally. The Peacocks are again at the forefront of the MAAC defensively, as Dunne’s teams have done the past four straight seasons dating back to 2013-14, currently leading the conference in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, forced turnovers and turnover margin.
• The Peacocks had a successful season in 2016-17 winning 23 games and claiming the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) title in the postseason. The Peacocks were selected eighth by the coaches in the preseason coaches’ poll, receiving 44 votes after finishing second last season and making an appearance in the MAAC semifinal round.
• Saint Peter’s finished with an RPI in the top-100 at 95 to end of the season. The team finished second in the MAAC during the regular season with a 14-6 mark. The Peacocks reached the tournament semifinals before falling to Iona.
• SPU defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the championship game to claim the CIT title. Saint Peter’s became the first team from New Jersey to win a national postseason tournament title since Princeton in the 1975 NIT with its CIT championship.
• Saint Peter’s led the MAAC last season in scoring defense, only allowing 60.8 points per game in 2016-17. They also ranked second in the conference in field goal percentage defense and first in 3-point field goal percentage.
• The program holds a 17-16 all-time series record against current CAA members. The last time the Peacocks earned a victory against a CAA team, was in 1999, when the Peacocks knocked off Northeastern on the road, 67-65.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix begins a four-game road swing on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. against Triad rival UNCG inside Greensboro Coliseum. The game will be aired on ESPN3. You can listen to the action on the Elon IMG Sports Network.