ELON, N.C. — The Elon men’s basketball game will begin a two-game road swing in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday, January 12 when the Phoenix and The Citadel go head-to-head at McAlister Field House. Elon is looking for its third straight victory over The Citadel and its first win on the road since a December 5 victory at UNCG. The game is set to tip at 7:05 p.m.
Site: Charleston, S.C.
Arena: McAlister Field House
Series: Elon leads, 10-4
Streak: Elon has won two
Radio: WPCM 920 AM — Taylor Durham and Dick Stewart will call the action
FREE THROWS
• After winning four straight, the Phoenix is in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
• Elon is 2-5 in road contests this year — its last road victory was at UNCG on Dec. 5.
• The Phoenix opened league play at 2-0 before suffering its first SoCon loss of the year to Georgia Southern on Jan. 5.
• Elon is averaging 7.4 made three-pointers a game in the last five contests — but the Phoenix is shooting only 29.1 percent from beyond the arc in those games.
• A typically strong defensive team, Elon opponents are shooting 46.9 percent over the last five games while the Phoenix has only connected on 33.3 percent from the field.
• Elon has held halftime leads in each of its last two games but come out on the losing end.
• Lucas Troutman moved into Elon’s all-time career blocks list with two swats against South Carolina. He is averaging 1.7 bpg, second in the league. The sophomore now has 69 blocks in just over a year of action and is in seventh place all-time at Elon.
• 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 all but one of the seven losses. The Phoenix ranks second in the SoCon in field goal percentage defense (.401). Opponents are shooting only 29.8 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 three contests.
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon led by as many as eight points in the second half, but Columbia shot 55.6 percent in the second half to earn a 65-60 victory at Alumni Gym on Sunday afternoon.
• The score was tied 12 times and the lead changed hands 13 times in the contest.
• The Phoenix won the battle on the glass for the first since Dec. 11 against Lynchburg. Elon held a 44-31 rebounding advantage — only the third time this year Elon has won the board battle.
• Four Phoenix players had six or more rebounds including guard Austin Hamilton. Hamilton was the leading scorer with 16 points.
ELON VS. COLUMBIA
• Elon is 3-2 all-time in games played at The Citadel.
• The Phoenix won both meetings with the Bulldogs last season, including an 85-74 victory in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament. Elon nailed 11-of-22 from beyond the arc in the league tourney victory last year.
• In five career games, Elon senior Drew Spradlin averages 11.4 ppg against The Citadel. He had 22 in the regular-season meeting at McAlister Field House last season.