Elon MBB Phoenix Resumes CAA Action at William & Mary on Saturday

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Elon University men’s basketball returns to Colonial Athletic Association action on Saturday, Jan. 19, with a matchup against William & Mary inside Kaplan Arena.

GAME NOTES (PDF) | PREVIEW

The game between the Phoenix and the Tribe will tip-off at 4 p.m. and is the first of two single-week meetings between the two teams this season with the Colonial Athletic Association’s move to travel partners.

COVERAGE
Watch the game live on CAA.tv, 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 Elon IMG Sports Network coverage will be provided by Taylor Durham and Brian Morris starting with the pregame show 3:30 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAME IS…
• The 16th meeting all-time between the Elon Phoenix and the William & Mary Tribe.
• The 2,715th game in Elon’s program history.

AN ELON WIN WOULD…
• Be the 1,407th win in program history and Elon’s 259th Division I win.
• Be the 146th win for Elon head men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny.

THE MATCHUP
• Saturday will be the 16th all-time meeting between Elon and William & Mary and the first time the two have met this season.
• The Tribe leads the all-time series 13-2.
• William & Mary swept the season series in 2017-18. Elon’s comeback fell short in a 99-92 loss in Williamsburg on Feb. 1, 2018. The Tribe earned an 80-73 victory in Alumni Gym on Jan. 20, 2018.
• Elon’s last victory against William & Mary came on Jan. 21, 2017 in a 71-62 win inside Alumni Gym. The Phoenix has lost three straight since.
• Elon’s first win against the Tribe was during the team’s inaugural season in the CAA. Elon toppled the Tribe 85-79 on Jan. 8, 2015 in Alumni Gym.
• The Phoenix is seeking its first win in Williamsburg against the Tribe.

SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
• William & Mary (7-11, 3-3 CAA) has lost two straight heading into Saturday after falling 90-70 against Northeastern on Jan. 12.
• Nathan Knight leads William & Mary in scoring (19.5 ppg) this season. He is bettering that average in CAA games with 19.8 per game.
• Justin Pierce is second in scoring (16.0 ppg), but leads the team in rebounding (9.4 rpg). Matt Milon is the Tribe’s third player scoring in double figures (12.3 ppg) this year.
• The Tribe leads the league in assists (17.2), blocked shots (4.4) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3) per game. W&M also is ranked third in field goal percentage defense (.434) and second in three-point field goal percentage defense (.329) in CAA games.
• At the start of conference play, W&M held Delaware to 58 points, Towson to 61 and Drexel to 66. It marked the first time in three years that the Tribe limited three-consecutive opponents to 66 or fewer points.
• During non-conference action, William & Mary picked up wins against Saint Joseph’s, High Point, William Peace and Hampton. They also faced tough matchups with losses to Virginia, Notre Dame, Marshall, Old Dominion and George Mason.

ABOUT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 5-14 record overall and is 1-5 in CAA action in 2018-19 following its heartbreaking 74-71 loss to league-leader Hofstra on Saturday night, Jan. 12.
• Elon has played 11 times at home this season, including seven times in non-conference games.
• Elon has two players scoring in double figures. Steven Santa Ana is Elon’s leading scorer and rebounder at 16.4 points and 6.4 boards per game. Tyler Seibring is tallying 16.3 points and 5.1 rebounds after all 18 games played thus far.
• The Phoenix ranks first in the CAA in three-pointers made with (9.9) per game, which also ranks 23rd in the nation. Elon’s 189 total three-pointers this season ranks 11th nationally.
• Santa Ana is currently 6th in the CAA in scoring (16.8), while Seibring ranks 10th (15.8) in the league.
• Sheldon Eberhardt leads the team with 65 total assists, which is an average of 3.9 per contest and ranks 6th in the CAA. He is also the team’s third-leading scorer with 9.5 points per game and has the second-highest free throw shooting percentage (.829) on the team, which ranks 7th in the league.
• Elon and gold returns 11 total players and three of its five starters from a year ago. One of its three returning starters, Dainan Swoope, is out for the season after having season-ending foot surgery.
• 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.

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 4 points (Career Total: 1,576) and 41 rebounds (Career Total: 686) 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.

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 during the final week of the Phoenix’s non-conference slate.
• 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.

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.

HOW 2018-19 BEGAN
• 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 then concluded non-conference action on the road at Kennesaw State and UMKC.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues its three-game road swing next week with a trip of College of Charleston on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m., followed by a trek to UNCW on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 4 p.m.