Elon MBB Hosts Towson on Friday in Conference Opener

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball opens Colonial Athletics Association play on Friday, Dec. 28, against Towson inside Schar Center. The 10th all-time matchup between the Phoenix and the Tigers will tip-off at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES (PDF) | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
You can watch the game live on Phoenix All-Access, 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.

FRIDAY’S GAME IS…
• The 10th meeting all-time between the Elon Phoenix and the Towson Tigers.
• The 2,710th game in Elon’s program history.

AN ELON WIN WOULD…
• Be the 1,406th win in program history and Elon’s 259th Division I win.
• Be the 145th win for Elon head men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny.
• Be Elon’s second-straight CAA opening victory.

THE MATCHUP
• Friday will be the 10th all-time meeting between Elon and Towson and Towson holds the 5-4 edge in the series. Five of nine meetings in the series have been decided by 5 points or less.
• Elon has won three of the last four meetings, including both last season.
• Elon swept the 2017-18 season series winning both home and away contests.
• The Phoenix defeated Towson 83-76 in the most recent meeting on Jan. 27, 2017 at SECU Arena. Elon also earned the home win last season with a 75-72 on Jan. 2, 2018 inside Alumni Gym.
• The Phoenix’s first win against Towson was during Elon’s first CAA Tournament appearance. Elon defeated Towson 74-69 in the first round of the 2015 tournament in Baltimore.

SCOUTING TOWSON
• Towson (4-8) heads into its matchup against the Phoenix having won 2 of its last 3 games with wins over UMBC and Tulane, as well as a narrow loss to La Salle. The Tigers have also earned victories against Wesley College and Loyola (Md.) this season.
• Brian Fobbs is the team’s scoring leader at 15.9 points, while Dennis Tunstall has a team-best 8.4 rebounds per contest. Tobias Howard has recorded a team-high 2.9 assists per game.
• Towson returns three players from last season in Alex Thomas, Jordan McNeil and Tunstall. Two players who practiced with the Tigers last season will be eligible in Nakye Sanders and Quinton Drayton.
• The Tigers currently rank second in the CAA in field goal percentage defense (.419) and are tops in the league in rebounding margin (+6.6) and rebounding offense (37.9).

ABOUT ELON
• The Phoenix started its 2018-19 campaign with a 4-9 record in non-conference action, including a 2-5 mark in its first season inside the brand new Schar Center. Elon played seven of its 13 non-conference games at home.
• Despite snapping its four-game losing streak with a 76-67 victory at Kennesaw State on Dec. 18, the Phoenix then fell to UMKC to close out its non-conference slate.
• Elon has three players scoring in double figures. Steven Santa Ana is Elon’s leading scorer and rebounder at 16.3 points and 6.5 boards per game. Tyler Seibring is tallying 15.8 points and Sheldon Eberhardt is averaging 10.3 points per contest.
• The Phoenix is currently making 10.8 three pointers per game this season, which ranks 12th 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.

WOOTEN TABBED CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
• Wooten averaged 11.5 points while shooting 60 percent from the floor (9-15) and 55.6 percent from three-point range (5-9) as Elon split a pair of road games Nov. 18-22.
• He is Elon’s first player to earn a weekly accolade from the conference this season. He is also Elon’s first CAA Rookie of the Week selection since Tyler Seibring earned the honor for the third time his freshman campaign on Jan. 18, 2016.

NEARING ELON HISTORY
• Senior forward Tyler Seibring is closing in on history that no player in program history at the NCAA Division I level has ever done.
• He is 107 points (Career Total: 1,472) and 81 rebounds (Career Total: 654) away from entering the top-10 in program history for each category.
• Seibring would be the first player in Elon’s NCAA Division I era (since 1999) to achieve that feat.

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 Phoenix hosted the No. 8-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on ESPNU in the program’s first regular season basketball game inside Schar Center on Friday, Nov. 9.
• 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, UNCG and Canisius. The Phoenix began its two-game road swing to close non-conference action at Kennesaw State, and concludes non-conference action against UMKC.
• Elon opens CAA play with a pair of home contests against Towson (Dec. 28) and James Madison (Dec. 30).

UP NEXT
The Phoenix concludes its opening weekend of conference play on Sunday, Dec. 30, with a matchup against James Madison at Schar Center. The game will tip-off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted by CBS College Sports Live.