Elon Hosts Bridgewater for Tuesday Night Exhibition

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team takes the hardwood in Alumni Gym for the first time this season on Tuesday night, Nov. 13, as the Phoenix hosts the Bridgewater Eagles at 7 p.m.

THE SERIES: Tuesday night marks the eighth all-time meeting between Elon and Bridgewater in a series that dates back to the 1926-27 season. Elon won the first ever meeting, 21-20, in 1926. The last time the two teams met was on November 24, 1999 in Elon. The maroon and gold came away with a 90-68 win in that game. The Phoenix leads the all-time series, 7-0.

LOOKING BACK: A second-half surge wasn’t enough for Elon on Saturday at Butler, as the Phoenix dropped a 74-59 decision to the Butler Bulldogs in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Opening Games. Elon erased an 18-point deficit and pulled within four points with 12:57 remaining in the second half, but the Bulldogs responded with back-to-back triples to take a 10-point lead. Butler managed to keep a double-digit lead intact down the stretch and keep Elon at arm’s length.

ON THE HORIZON: Following Tuesday’s game vs. Bridgewater, Elon remains home for its next two contests. The Phoenix hosts the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Regional Games on Nov. 17-18 in Alumni Gym, as the Phoenix welcomes Florida Atlantic, Coppin State and Colgate to campus. Elon faces Colgate at 2 p.m. on Saturday before facing either CSU or FAU a day later at 4:30 p.m.

HOME OPENERS: Elon is 11-2 in home openers during its Division I era; the Phoenix has won seven consecutive home openers with its last loss coming to Weber State in 2004-05. Last year, the Phoenix knocked off the South Carolina Gamecocks in its home opener, 58-53, in front of a capacity crowd in Alumni Gym.

BLOCK PARTY: With two blocks against Butler on Nov. 10, Lucas Troutman moved into fifth all-time in Elon history with 93 in his career. Troutman passed former Elon player Desmond Knowles (1989-93), who recorded 92 during his four-year tenure.

ABOUT BRIDGEWATER: Tuesday’s game is the lone exhibition contest for the Eagles. Bridgewater is led by head coach Don Burgess, now in his fifth season with the Eagles. Burgess was previously an assistant coach at High Point. The Eagles open their regular season on Nov. 16 versus Ferrum, who Elon topped 103-49 in an exhibition game on Nov. 3. Bridgewater College is located in Bridgewater, Va. (population 5,644), in Rockingham County, about 205 miles north of Elon’s campus. The college is about eight minutes from the city of Harrisonburg (population 48,914). Bridgewater’s enrollment is nearly 1,750.