Elon MBB Completes Northeast Road Trip at Hofstra on Sunday

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball concludes its northeast road swing with a matchup against the Hofstra Pride on Sunday, Jan 7, at 4 p.m. The matchup will be the eighth all-time meeting and seventh since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014-15.

GAME NOTES | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
Watch the action live on CAA.TV. Fans can also 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 3:30 p.m.

THE SERIES
• Sunday marks the 8th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Pride. The last six meetings have occurred since
the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014-15. Hofstra holds the 5-2 lead all-time against Elon.
• Afte Hofstra had won the first five matchups, Elon swept the season-series in 2016-17. The Phoenix defeated the Pride 96-80 on Jan. 12, 2017 inside Alumni Gym, then earned an 84-70 victory on Jan. 28, 2017 in Hempstead, N.Y.
• Prior to joining the CAA, Elon’s first-ever meeting against the Pride was during the 2009-10 NIT Season Tip-Off.

LAST TIME OUT
• Elon fell to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in CAA action with a 72-60 loss to Northeastern on Friday, Jan. 5, in Matthews Arena.
• The Phoenix fought back in the second half, facing a 21-point halftime deficit and trailing Northeastern by as much as 25 points in the first half, but the Huskies held on for the win.
• After the Huskies held Elon to just 31 percent shooting in the first half and forced 12 Phoenix giveaways, the Phoenix made 60.7 percent of its shots in the second half, including 50 percent from 3-point range, to cut Northeastern’s lead to as little as four points twice in the final 10 minutes.

A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 10-6 record overall and 2-1 mark in CAA action following Friday’s loss to Northeastern.
• Elon started 2-0 for the first time in conference play as a member of the CAA and for the 6th time in the program’s Division I era since 1999 (first time since 2011-12).
• Elon is averaging 73.6 ppg and allowing 72.6 ppg thus far through 16 games. The team has only been held to under 70 points 5 times and under 60 points twice this season.
• Offensively, Elon ranks 2nd in the CAA averaging 10.6 made three-pointers a game and 3rd with 15.5 assists per contest.
• The Phoenix continues to improve defensively, allowing teams to shoot 42.4% from the floor which ranks 3rd in the CAA. Elon is also 1st in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 29.0 per game.
• Elon is 1st in NCAA Division I in fouls committed per game. The Phoenix averages just 13.1 personal fouls per game.
• Dainan Swoope is currently Elon’s leading scorer at 14.3 ppg, Tyler Seibring is 10th in the league averaging a team-best 6.1 rpg, while Swoope is 6th in the CAA with 3.5 apg.
• Eberhardt has the 4th-best assist/turnover ratio in the CAA with a 2.1 ratio with 50 assists to 25 turnovers.
• Elon completed its non-conference schedule with eight or more wins for the 4th straight year.
• The Phoenix returned 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.
• Dawkins finished second on the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg, while Santa Ana and 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.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
• Three Phoenix are less than 200 points away and two are less and 100 from reaching 1,000 career points. Elon currently has 39 players in program history that have reached the 1,000-point mark.
• Dmitri Thompson (982) and Tyler Seibring (980) each are the closes to reaching the 1,000 point mark. Dainan Swoope has 894 career points, just 106 away.
• Seibring and Swoope would become the 11th and 12th players in program history to reach the 1,000 career-point total as juniors.

SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope is Elon’s leading scorer through 16 games averaging 14.3 ppg, nearly a 3-point increase from 11.7 ppg last season. Swoope has scored in double figures 12 times thus far and is currently 14th in the CAA in scoring.
• The junior point guard makes 84.2% of his shots from the free throw line, which is 4th in the CAA, and he is tied for 3rd in the league with 45 made three-pointers.
• Swoope is also 6th in the CAA in assists averaging 3.5 dimes per game this season. He ranks 7th in minutes per game 34.1.
• 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.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
• Four of Elon’s starters are averaging doubles figures through 16 games this season. Swoope leads the way with 14.3 ppg, while Seibring is second averaging 12.9 ppg.
• Rounding out the top scorers are Brian Dawkins and Dmitri Thompson as each are averaging 11.3 per game.
• Elon has had 7 different players finish in double figures this season and 6 have led their team in scoring during games.
• The Phoenix has had at least three players finish in double-figures in 12 games this season. The only 4 times this season Elon had less in a game was two against Radford (11/22), at UNCG (12/7) and at Northeastern (1/5) and one at Canisius (12/17).

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 6.1 points and 3.3 assists per contest. He also has the highest shooting percentage on the team at 50.7%.

373 AND COUNTING
• The Elon program has made at least one three-point field goal in 373 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The matchup on Feb. 4, 2017 at College of Charleston marked the 350th consective game.
• 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.

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 HOFSTRA
• The Hofstra Pride come into Sunday’s contest with a 9-6 overall record and a 2-1 mark in CAA action after a 87-81 overtime victory over James Madison. Hofstra has won two straight games following a three-game skid.
• The trio of junior Justin Wright-Foreman (26 points, six assists), senior Rokas Gustys (12 points, 18 rebounds) and freshman Jalen Ray (18 points, five three-pointers) led the way for the Pride in the win over the Dukes. Wright-Foreman sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
• Gustys reached the 1,000-point plateau in the second half – becoming only the 35th player in program history. Wright-Foreman is now at 991 career points, looking to become the 36th player in program history.
• Wright-Foreman leads Hofstra in scoring this season pouring in an average of 24.5 points per game. Gustys is third on the team in scoring with 9.7 points per contest, while pulling down a team-best 10.9 rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix returns to Alumni Gym for week three of conference play, beginning with a matchup against UNCW on Thursday night, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m.