Elon MBB Phoenix Set for Regular Season Road Finale at Charleston

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball goes hits the road for the final time this regular season on Thursday night, Feb. 22, when the Phoenix faces league-leader College of Charleston at 7 p.m. inside TD Arena.
GAME NOTES

COVERAGE
Watch the game through CAA.TV, which will be broadcasted on CAA.TV through Charleston Sports Network. You can listen to the Elon IMG Sports Network broadcast of the game on WSJS 104.5 FM and 1200 AM as Taylor Durham and Brian Morris will call the action with the pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m.

THE SERIES
• Thursday’s game against College of Charleston will be the 26th all-time meeting and the second time the teams have gone head-to-head this season. Elon snapped a three-game losing streak against the Cougars with a 63-58 win on Jan. 13 in Alumni Gym.
• The Cougars swept the season series last season, earning a 66-54 win in Alumni Gym on Dec. 31, 2016 and defeating the Phoenix 71-58 at TD Arena on Feb. 4, 2017. Both teams were Southern Conference rivals from 2003-2013.
• Elon’s last win against the Cougars in Charleston, S.C. was when Dainan Swoope hit a game-winning triple for the 65-64 win on Jan. 16, 2016.

A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 14-14 record overall and owns a 6-9 mark in CAA play after dropping its third straight contest at
Delaware 72-57 on Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Bob Carpenter Center. Elon is currently 6th in the CAA Standings.
• Tyler Seibring was named CAA Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 5 and has been solid in his first 14 conference games, averaging 18.6 points and 7.5 rebounds. He is also shooting 50% from the floor and 46.1% from deep.
• Seibring and Thompson each scored their 1,000th career point on Jan. 7 in a win at Hofstra. Swoope became the 42nd player in program history to reach 1,000 points on Feb. 3 against Delaware.
• Elon is scoring 73.8 ppg and allowing 75.0 ppg thus far through 28 games.
• Offensively, Elon ranks 2nd in the CAA averaging 10.8 made three-pointers. Elon also is 3rd in the league averaging with 16.4 assists per contest.
• The Phoenix is improving defensively, allowing teams to shoot 43.2% from the floor which ranks 3rd overall in the CAA. Elon’s 44.6% field goal percentage defense in CAA games ranks 2nd in the league. Elon is also 2nd in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 25.7 per game.
• Tyler Seibring is currently Elon’s leading scorer at 15.6 ppg. Seibring is also 11th in the league averaging a team-best 6.8 rpg and is 2nd in the CAA with a 45.1% 3-point field goal percentage. Dainan Swoope is 4th in the CAA with 3.8 apg.
• Eberhardt has the 5th-best assist/turnover ratio in the CAA with a 2.1 ratio with 78 assists to 37 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, Thompson, Jack Anton, Jack George and Collin Luther make up this year’s senior class.
• Elon also made three additions in freshman guard Nathan Priddy and forwards Simon Wright and Duje Radja.

CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tyler Seibring was named CAA Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 5 after averaging 26.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in Elon’s 1-1 week. The Normal, Ill. native shot 67.9% (19-28) from the floor, 88.9% (8-9) from 3-point range and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Seibring shared the weekly honor with Joe Chealey of College of Charleston.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
• Four of Elon’s starters are averaging doubles figures through 28 games this season. Seibring leads the way with 15.6 ppg, while Swoope is second averaging 13.3 ppg.
• Rounding out the top five scorers are Brian Dawkins (12.0), and Dmitri Thompson (11.5 ppg).
• 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 21 games this season. The only 7 times this season that the Phoenix has had less in a game was two against Radford (11/22), at UNCG (12/7), at Northeastern (1/5) and at UNCW (2/15) and one at Canisius (12/17), vs. Hofstra (2/8), and at Delaware.

JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
• Dmitri Thompson and Tyler Seibring each joined the 1,000-point club on Sunday, Jan. 7, at Hofstra. Dainan Swoope is the 3rd player this season to join the club after doing so on Feb. 3 against Delaware.
• Seibring was the first to join, becoming the 40th player overall and the 11th junior to reach the mark.
• Thompson followed becoming the 41st player in 109 seasons of Elon basketball to reach 1,000 career points.
• Dainan Swoope became the 42nd player overall, the 12th junior, and third player this season to join the club.
• Brian Dawkins is the next closest with 908 career points and needs 92 to join the club.

COMING UP BIG IN LEAGUE PLAY
• After averaging 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds during non-conference play, Tyler Seibring has increased his averages to 18.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in league games, which both rank 5th in the CAA.
• Seibring is 3rd in the CAA with 46-made three-pointers and is 1st the league in three-point field goal percentage (47.9%) in CAA contests.

SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope has shown improvement on the scoring end his junior campaign, averaging 13.3 ppg this season in comparison to his 11.7 ppg last season. Swoope has scored in double figures 20 times thus far and has a team-high 8 games of 20+ points.
• Swoope is also 4th in the CAA in assists averaging 3.8 dimes per game this season.
• The junior finished the non-conference portion of the schedule averaging 14.7 ppg and shot 85.1% from the free throw line.
• 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.

PROVIDING A SPARK
• Sheldon Eberhardt has made an impact off the bench, scoring in double-figures four times this season for the Phoenix. The last time he scored in double figures was when he chipped in 13 points on Jan. 25 at Drexel.
• 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 5.6 points and is 2nd on the team with 2.9 assists per contest. He also has one of the highest shooting percentages on the team at 48.0%.

LET IT FLY
• The Phoenix is 2nd in the CAA and 11th in the NCAA with 10.8 three-pointers made per game.
• Elon’s 301 total three-pointers this season ranks 1st in the CAA and 12th in the NCAA.
• The maroon and gold also ranks first in the league with 847 three-point attempts, which ranks 7th nationally.

385 AND COUNTING
• The Elon program has made at least one three-point field goal in 385 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.

FINAL SEASON OF ALUMNI GYM
• The 2017-18 season marks the 67th season 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. The arena opened its doors in 1950.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
• Elon has a 8-3 record overall record at home and has three sellouts this year in its final season inside Alumni Gym.
• Since the 2011-12 season, Elon has a 67-30 record (31-8 vs. non-conference teams) inside Alumni Gym. Elon has sold out Alumni Gym 21 times under head coach Matt Matheny, with its most recent sellout coming on Jan. 11, 2018. Matheny is 15-8 all-time in front of sellout crowds in Alumni Gym.

SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
• College of Charleston is currently on the nation’s second-longest winning streak of 10 games heading into Thursday night’s matchup against the Phoenix. The Cougars have a one-game lead in the conference standings at 13-3 and have an overall mark of 22-6 this season.
• Charleston has three players on the squad who are averaging nearly 18 points per game in Joe Chealey (17.6 ppg), Grant Riller (17.6 ppg), and Jarrell Brantley (17.7 ppg).
• The Cougars hold their opponents to 67.5 points per game, the best in the CAA. Charleston is also second in the CAA in field goal percentage defense (.426) and third in 3-point percentage defense (.340). Defensively, College of Charleston also has the largest turnover margin in the CAA of +1.96, averaging just 9.9 turnovers to 11.9 forced.
• Joe Chealey was named the CAA’s Preseason Player of the Year before the start of the season and leads the team in scoring and assists this season. He also has the second-highest free-throw percentage (.854) in the league.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix concludes the regular season with its final two games inside of historic Alumni Gym. Elon Athletics will celebrate the final season of Alumni Gym and will recognize its senior class of Brian Dawkins, Dmitri Thompson, Collin Luther, Jack George, and Jack Anton on Saturday, Feb. 24, against Northeastern, which will tip-off at 7 p.m. Elon will then host James Madison on Monday, Feb. 26, in its final game inside Alumni Gym.