ELON, N.C. — The Elon men’s basketball team will put its home undefeated streak on the line on Thursday night when it hosts fellow Southern Conference unbeaten Georgia Southern in the Phoenix’s first game of the new year. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on Robertson Court and Elon is running a special Family Four Pack ticket offer. For $30, fans can purchase four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks to see the Phoenix take on the Eagles. Call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750 to reserve your seats today.
Site: Elon, N.C.
Arena: Alumni Gym
Series: Series tied, 8-8
Streak: Elon has won two
Radio: WPCM 920 AM — Taylor Durham and Dick Stewart will call the action
FREE THROWS
• The Phoenix is coming off a tough stretch of three road games that saw Elon travel to New Hampshire and California and face the fifth-ranked team in the country.
• Elon gets back into the heart of Southern Conference play against Georgia Southern with an undefeated league mark.
• The last time Elon opened league play 3-0 was when the 2005-06 squad reeled off six straight victories to open SoCon action en route to a North Division title.
• Since Elon joined the Division I ranks, the Phoenix has posted a record of 40-68 in the month of January. The Phoenix went 5-5 last year after not winning more than two games in January in the previous four seasons.
• Lucas Troutman moved into Elon’s all-time career blocks list with two swats against South Carolina. He is averaging 1.8 bpg, tied for tops in the league. The sophomore now has 68 blocks in just over a year of action and is in seventh place all-time at Elon.
• Sophomore Sebastian Koch is shooting .423 from three-point land, a mark that ranks 44th in the country. He leads the squad with 30 triples on the year.
• Elon has held opponents to under 40 percent shooting in each one of its wins this year — but opponents have shot above 40 percent in the four losses. The Phoenix ranks second in the SoCon in field goal percentage defense (.396). Opponents are shooting only 28.4 percent from three-point territory — a stat that ranks second only to Georgia Southern in the SoCon.
• The Phoenix has shot better than its opponent in all seven wins this year but been outrebounded in all but two of those victories.
LAST TIME OUT
• The fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels handed the Phoenix a 100-62 loss on December 29 in Elon’s last game of 2011.
• Sebastian Koch led the Phoenix with 17 points on five three-pointers while Lucas Troutman registered his first career double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• The high-flying Heels put together a 23-0 run midway through the first half that nearly put the game out of reach for the Phoenix.
ELON VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
• Elon is looking for its third straight victory against the Eagles after sweeping the season series in 2010-11. Elon has not lost to Georgia Southern in Alumni Gym since Jan. 17, 2008.
• Both teams are unbeaten in league action this year — Elon beat Furman at home and UNCG on the road while Georgia Southern defeated Chattanooga and Appalachian State at home.
• Lucas Troutman averages 15.5 ppg vs. the Eagles having played in two contests. Drew Spradlin has faced GSU five times and averages 12.2 ppg.
• The Eagles are coming off an 88-60 victory over Brewton Parker on Jan. 2.