Elon MBB Treks to Kennesaw State on Tuesday

KENNESAW, Ga. – For the first time in nearly a month, Elon University men’s basketball hits the road and will face Kennesaw State on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at the KSU Convocation Center. The matchup between the Phoenix and the Owls will tip-off at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES (PDF) | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
You can watch the game live on ESPN+, or you can listen to the coverage on the Elon IMG Sports Network through TuneIn, elonphoenix.com/live, or on CAA.tv and the CAA.tv app. The Phoenix All-Access and Elon IMG Sports Network coverage will be provided by Taylor Durham and Brian Morris starting with the pregame show 6:30 p.m.

TUESDAY’S GAME IS…
• The 3rd meeting all-time between the Elon Phoenix and the Kennesaw State Owls.
• The 2,709th game in Elon’s program history.
• The first meeting between Elon and Kennesaw State since 2015.
• The 300th game of head coach Matt Matheny’s coaching career.

AN ELON WIN WOULD…
• Be the 1,405th win in program history and Elon’s 258th Division I win.
• Be the 144th win for Elon head men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny.
• Elon’s third straight win against Kennesaw State
• Snap Elon’s current four-game losing streak

THE MATCHUP
• Tuesday will be the third all-time meeting between Elon and Kennesaw State and the second at the KSU Convocation Center.
• This is the first meeting between the two sides since Nov. 30, 2015 inside Elon’s old basketball arena, Alumni Gym.
• In the last meeting, an improbable 8-0 run with 18.9 seconds remaining in regulation by Elon led to a thrilling 103-93 overtime victory on Nov. 30, 2015, inside Alumni Gym.
• The Phoenix outscored the Owls 14-4 in the overtime period in the last matchup to complete the comeback victory.
• The first meeting took place on Dec. 22, 2014 at Kennesaw State as the Phoenix came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Owls 67-65 at the KSU Convocation Center.

SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
• The Owls are riding high after snapping their nine-game losing streak with a 73-68 win over Tennessee Tech this past Saturday.
• Kennesaw earned its first win of the season with a win over Oglethorpe. They have dropped tough contests against Kansas State, Missouri, ODU, Belmont and Georgia.
• Tyler Hooker currently leads the ASUN averaging 19.1 points per game. He is also one of two players in the league with over 200 points scored.
• Bryson Lockley is averaging 12.3 points per game over the last four games.
• As a team, KSU is averaging 37.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 5th overall in the ASUN. Lockley and Kosta Jankovic rank fifth and ninth, respectively, in the league for rebounds per game.
• Isaac Mbuyamba is currently tied for fourth in the league averaging 1.4 blocks per game. The Owls average 3.5 blocks per game to rank third in the ASUN.

ABOUT ELON
• The Phoenix has started its 2018-19 campaign with a 3-8 record, including a 2-5 mark in its first season inside the brand new Schar Center.
• Elon has three players scoring in double figures. Tyler Seibring is Elon’s leading scorer and rebounder at 16.0 points.
• Steven Santa Ana is second at 15.8 points and leads the team averaging 6.8 boards per game. Sheldon Eberhardt is tallying 10.3 points per contest.
• The Phoenix is currently making 11.0 three pointers per game this season, which ranks T-9th at the NCAA Division I ranks.
• Elon and gold returns 11 total players and three of its five starters from a year ago.
• The Phoenix returns four of its top six scorers, including its 2017-18 leading scorer and rebounder in Seibring (15.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg).
• The program’s senior class is made up of five players (Seibring, Swoope, Santa Ana, Eberhardt and Karolis Kundrotas). Heading into the season, the five players had combined to play in a total of 437 games and make 209 starts.
• Elon made four new additions to the squad for 2018-19 in first-year players Chuck Hannah, Andy Pack, Federico Poser and Kris Wooten.
• The Phoenix has been predicted to finish eighth in the league as the CAA released its preseason men’s basketball poll on Oct. 17, during the conference’s digital media day. Tyler Seibring collected preseason All-CAA honors as he was named to the second team.

SEIBRING NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
• Tyler Seibring has been named one of the 30 NCAA Division men’s basketball candidates for the 2018-18 Senior CLASS Award®
• The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
• Seibring carries a 3.91 grade-point average as a double major in English and Economics.
• The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Final Four® this spring.

JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
• Senior guard Steven Santa Ana became the 43rd player in program history to reach 1,000-career points against Central Penn on Nov. 27.
• Elon currently has three 1,000-point scorers on the team in Tyler Seibring, Dainan Swoope and Steven Santa Ana. Swoope and Seibring each joined the 1,000-point club as juniors.
• Seibring was the first to join, becoming the 40th player overall and the 11th junior to reach the mark. Dainan Swoope became the 42nd player overall, the 12th junior.

RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCES
• The Phoenix have twice set a program record with 19 three-pointers made in a game this season.
• Elon set the record of 19 triples in its 98-71 victory over Milligan College on Nov. 15, 2018, the program’s first-ever win in Schar Center.
• The team then matched the mark on Nov. 27, 2018 inside Schar Center during its 92-59 win over Central Penn.

SCHAR CENTER
• Elon University men’s basketball will play its games inside its new facility, Schar Center, this season after calling Alumni Gym its home since since 1950.
• Schar Center officially opened its doors in July of 2018 and was dedicated on October, 19, 2018. The 161,000-square-foot convocation center has a current capacity of 5,100-seats.
• Not only does it serve as the home for Phoenix basketball and volleyball programs, but it also serves as an event venue that will provide a large gathering space for a wide variety of major campus events such as convocations and concerts.
• The facility is named for Dwight and Martha Schar, of Palm Beach, Fla., parents of Stuart Schar ’16 and Spencer Schar ’19.
• Among Elon’s most generous donors for the project, the Schars have contributed $13 million to the university to provide lead funding for the convocation center and the expanded School of Communications facilities, which features Dwight C. Schar Hall as the centerpiece.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2018-19
• Elon’s 110th season of basketball opened with a marquee matchup as the Elon Phoenix hosted the No. 8-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in the program’s first regular season basketball game inside Schar Center. The game is set for Friday, Nov. 9, on ESPNU.
• Prior to that contest, the Phoenix opened the 2018-19 season on Nov. 6 on the road at Manhattan. Elon then competed in the Tiger Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 22-24, at Pacific University on Thanksgiving week.
• During its non-conference slate, the Phoenix scheduled a total of seven home contests, which have included North Carolina, Boston University, No. 25 Furman and UNCG thus far. Canisius is Elon’s final home game of the non-conference slate.
• Elon opens CAA play with a pair of home contests against Towson (Dec. 28) and James Madison (Dec. 30).

UP NEXT
The Phoenix closes out non-conference action on Saturday, Dec. 22, at UMKC. The matchup between the Phoenix and the Kangaroos will tip-off at 3 p.m. eastern time.