Elon MBB Faces BU in Beantown on Sunday

ELON, N.C. – Following a nine-day break for final exams, Elon University men’s basketball team resumes non-conference action opening a three-game northern trip on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 17, with a first-ever meeting against the Boston University Terriers. The game is scheduled to tip off inside Case Gym at 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
Watch the action on the Patriot League Network through Stadium. Listen to the Elon IMG Sports Network broadcast on WSJS 104.5 FM and 1200 AM, or on elonphoenix.com. Taylor Durham and Brian Morris will call the action on the radio broadcast with the pregame show starting at 12:30 p.m.

THE SERIES
• Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between Elon and Boston University.
• Boston University will be the third Patriot League team Elon has faced under head coach Matt Matheny. Elon defeated Colgate in 2012 and also beat Navy in 2011 and 2010. Matheny is 3-0 against Patriot League teams at Elon.
• In the history of the program, Elon has faced four members of the Patriot League with matchups against American, Colgate, Loyola (Md.) and Navy. The Phoenix holds a combined 6-7 record against those three teams.
• Elon’s last matchup against a Patriot League member was an 81-72 victory over Colgate on Nov. 17, 2012, inside Alumni Gym.

LAST TIME OUT
• Elon fell to Triad rival UNCG, 75-44, on Thursday, Dec. 7, inside Greensboro Coliseum.
• Tyler Seibring led the way with team-highs of 11 points and eight rebounds. Sheldon Eberhardt added 11 points of his own.
• The Phoenix made a season-low four three-pointers, as UNCG ended Elon 12-game winning streak against its Triad rival.
• The Spartans limited the Phoenix to just 34.7 percent shooting from the floor and 14.3 percent from three. UNCG forced Elon to commit 16 turnovers, which led to 14 points as the Spartans outscored Elon 14-2 off turnovers.

SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope is Elon’s leading scorer through 10 games averaging 15.7 ppg and has scored in double figures eight times thus far.
• Before suffering an ankle injury in the second half at UNCG, Swoope was averaging 17.1 ppg in the first nine contests.
• 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 win 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 11th in the CAA in scoring averaging 15.7 ppg through 10 games this season.
• The junior point guard is also ninth in the CAA in assists averaging 3.1 dimes per game this season. He is third in the league with 29 made three-pointers this season.

PROVIDING A SPARK
• Sheldon Eberhardt has made an impact off the bench, scoring in double-figures three times this season for the Phoenix.
• He posted a career-high 10 assists in Elon’s victory over Saint Peter’s, which was the first time an Elon player had 10 or more assists in a game since Chris Long had 10 on Feb. 19, 2011 against UNCG.
• Eberhardt is currently averaging 7.2 points and a team-high 3.5 assists per contest. He also has the highest shooting percentage on the team at 54.5 percent.

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 897 career points and is just 103 points away. Tyler Seibring is right behind with 891 career points and is within 109 points. Dainan Swoope has 822 career points, just 178 away.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
• Three of five Elon starters are averaging doubles figures in this early part of the season. Swoope leads the way with 15.7 ppg, while Brian Dawkins is second averaging 12.8 ppg.
• Rounding out the top scorers are Tyler Seibring, who is averaging 11.8 ppg.
• Dmitri Thompson and Steven Santa Ana are right there with 9.6 ppg and 8.9 ppg this season, respectively.
• Elon has had six different players finish in double figures this season and four have led their team in scoring during games.
• The Phoenix has had at least three players finish in double-figures in eight games this season. The only two times this season Elon had less in a game was two against Radford (11/22) and at UNCG (12/7).

A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix is off to a 6-4 mark and had a three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday, Dec. 7, at UNCG.
• Elon was averaging 78.7 points in the first nine contest until the team was held to 44 points at UNCG. The Phoenix is now averaging 75.2 ppg, which is sixth in the CAA.
• Elon is 2nd in the CAA averaging 10.2 made three pointers a game and 3rd in the league with 15.3 assists per contest.
• The Phoenix continues to be strong defensively, only allowing teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor and 34.1% from three, which both rank third in the CAA. Elon is also first in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 31.1 per game.
• Dainan Swoope is currently Elon’s leading scorer at 15.7 ppg, Brian Dawkins is 10th in the league averaging a team-best 6.4 rpg, while Sheldon Eberhardt is sixth in the CAA with 3.5 apg.
• 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 Priddy and forwards Simon Wright and Duje Radja into the fold.

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.

SCOUTING BOSTON UNIVERSITY
• BU is off to a 4-5 start this season after suffering an 87-82 setback at UMass Lowell on Wednesday. The Terriers could not complete a rally from as much as 10-point deficit with under 3:40 to play against the Red Hawks.
• Sophomore Max Mahoney scored a season-high 29 points and 11 rebounds for his first-career double-double against UMass Lowell. He is currently second on the team in scoring this season averaging 11.9 ppg and leagues the Terriers grabbing 5.1 rebounds per contest. He has now posted double-figures in four straight games.
• Senior Cedric Hankerson leads the team in scoring at 12.7 ppg and ranks fourth all-time at BU with 205 three-pointers and has hit a team-high 19 treys this season. He has now scored in double-figures in four straight contests.
• The Terriers put together the best field goal shooting performance in three seasons in which they went 35-of-54 (.648) at Bethune-Cookman in the 90-87 victory.
• BU is 1-2 at home this season and is 3-3 on the road with two of its three losses coming against major conference opponents in UConn and No. 10 Miami.
• The Terriers have a ton of depth this season as 11 players have reached double figures, which is tied for third-most nationally. BU ranks third in the Patriot League averaging 14.7 assists per contest.
• Senior Nick Havener is the third Terrier averaging double figures in scoring at 10.0 ppg. He is also second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game.
• The Terriers are averaging 72.9 ppg and are shooting 46.1 percent from the floor, which is the second-highest shooting percentage in the Patriot League. BU opponents are scoring 74.1 ppg and shooting 45.1 percent from the field.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues its northern road trip to close out non-conference play on Tuesday evening, Dec. 19, trekking to Buffalo for a matchup against Canisius inside the Koessler Athletic Center at 7 p.m.