Elon MBB Phoenix Set to Battle Charleston in Saturday Showdown

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team takes on the College of Charleston for the second time this season on Saturday night, Feb. 13, inside Alumni Gym.

You can listen to the game live on WSML 104.5 FM/1200 AM with Taylor Durham and John Roddey on the Elon IMG Sports Network. Pre-game coverage on WSML in Alumni Gym begins at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be aired on Sirius/XM Radio on Sirius 108 and XM 203 channels on the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN). Patrick Johnson and Brian Mull will have the call. Watch the action on Phoenix All-Access as Justin Biegel and Alex Hager will call the action.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 22nd all-time meeting between Elon and College of Charleston. The Cougars lead the all-time series 15-6 and 13-6 during Elon’s Division I era. Both teams were previously members of the Southern Conference. Elon defeated the Cougars 65-64 on Jan. 16. Prior to that, Elon’s last win over College of Charleston was a 99-98 double-overtime thriller on Feb. 2, 2012. Elon dropped both games last season against College of Charleston falling 66-50 on Jan. 14, 2015 in Alumni Gym and 77-63 on Feb. 18 at TD Arena. Both teams faced off a total of 16 times as members of the Southern Conference. The first all-time meeting was during the 1992-93 season and the Cougars won 85-53 on Feb. 15, 1993.

LAST TIME OUT
Elon came back from an 11-point deficit, but late free throws secured an 86-82 victory for UNCW. Tyler Seibring has 18 points and five rebounds to lead the Phoenix. Luke Eddy (15), Christian Hairston (14) and Dmitri Thompson (12) all finished in double figures for Elon. UNCW held its largest lead of the game 42-31 with 1:54 left in the half. Elon brought the game within one several times in the second half, but the Seahawks closed out the game with Jordan Talley free throws.

ELON IN FEBRUARY
Going into Saturday’s game against the College of Charleston, Elon has a 28-25 mark in the month of February under head coach Matt Matheny. Elon was 3-5 in February last season.

A WINNING SENIOR CLASS
Elon’s senior class of Sam Hershberger, Tony Sabato, Tanner Samson and Wes Brewer have been a part of 68 wins during their time with the program since the 2012-13 season. They have a combined record of 68-55 since their first year with the program. The most wins posted by a senior class during Elon’s Division I era is 69 total victories, which was reached by last year’s 2015 class of Austin Hamilton, Kevin Blake, and Ryan Winters.

DISHING IT OUT
Elon as a team is averaging 15.7 assists per game this season, which is second the CAA. Luke Eddy is leading the team with 123 assists, 4.7 assists per game. He is second in the CAA in both categories.

FRESH IMPACT
Elon’s freshmen have made an impact during the 2015-16 season scoring 35.7 percent of Phoenix points this season. 726 of the team’s 2032 points have been scored by a freshmen, which includes 256 from Dainan Swoope, 249 from Tyler Seibring, Steven Santa Ana has tabbed 172, Karolis Kundrotas has scored 29 and Sheldon Eberhardt has 20. The three freshmen that have had the most playing time has made an impact for the Phoenix in conference play. Tyler Seibring has averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in the first 13 games. Dainan Swoope is averaging 8.4 points in conference play. Steven Santa Ana has notched 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in eight CAA contests.

SHARING THE WEALTH
A total of eight different Elon players have led the team in scoring in 13 CAA games this season. Thompson and Seibring have been the high scorers in a team-most three conference games. Only Luke Eddy (2) and Tanner Samson (2), and been the scoring leader in more than one CAA game this season.

GOOD START IS KEY
Elon has been most successful this season when winning the tip and leading at the half this season. The Phoenix is 11-1 overall this season when leading at the half. Elon’s loss vs. JMU on Saturday, Jan. 23, was the first loss of the season when leading at the half.

POTENT OFFENSE
Elon ranks in the top-three in the CAA in multiple offensive categories. In game averages, the Phoenix is third in scoring (78.2 ppg), second in assists (15.7 apg), and first in three-pointers per game (9.7).

UP NEXT
Next week, Elon hits the road for a matchup at Drexel on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m., followed by a trip to Towson for a noon tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 20, which will be aired on Comcast Sports Network (CSN). Elon’s final home game of the season is on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. against William & Mary.