ELON, N.C. – Five players scored in double figures as the Elon University men’s basketball team captured a 93-73 victory over Drexel on Thursday, Jan. 19, inside Alumni Gym.
Elon (11-9, 3-4 CAA) led from start to finish in the victory, pounding the Dragons in the paint, 30-8, and knocking down 10 triples. Elon has now connected on 10 or more threes in a game as a team 10 times this season.
“Tonight was one of our better 40-minute performances and I told the guys that in the locker room after the game,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We feel like we’re getting better through the process. Not every night has been all glorious and smiles, but we’ve had a couple lately that have been good for all 40 minutes and I’m extremely pleased with how we played tonight.”
Tyler Seibring recorded his third game with 20+ points, finishing the night with a career-high 25 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. Seibring also knocked down 4-of-6 shots from deep and went a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line.
Steven Santa Ana finished with 22 points, his sixth career game with 20+ points. The sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., went 6-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from three.
Dainan Swoope scored 16 points in the win, while Brian Dawkins and Dmitri Thompson chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.
Elon was incredibly efficient at the free throw line, going 25-of-28 (89.3 percent) for the game, including a 17-of-18 performance in the second half.
After Thompson began the game with a coast-to-coast dunk off a Drexel turnover, the Phoenix reeled off seven straight points en route to a 9-0 lead with under 18 minutes to play in the first half.
Elon took a 10-point lead with 9:21 to play after Dawkins was left open underneath the basket on an inbound for an easy layup, making it a 21-11 game.
The Phoenix carried a 42-32 lead at the break behind a solid shooting performance, going 15-of-31 (48 percent) from the floor in the opening frame. Seibring led all players with 12 first-half points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Drexel called a timeout after Elon’s lead climbed to 19 points, as a Dawkins baseline jumper put the Phoenix up, 53-34, with 16:29 to play in the second half.
Elon held on to a double-digit lead for the duration of the contest to secure the win, its third victory in its last four contests.
QUOTES
Elon Head Coach Matt Matheny’s opening statement…
“Could be one of our better 40-minute performances in a lot of ways. I think it is, I may change my mind when I watch it on film, but I feel like we played better. We’re getting better and we played consistently pretty well both offensively and defensively for 40 minutes. For the game, for the 40 minutes tonight, I thought we were pretty consistently improved. I like numbers under 40 percent – field goal percentage. I like out-rebounding them. We need to get more offensive rebounds. Eight’s better than five, but we want to get more. But we were pretty efficient offensively, so good night for us.”
UP NEXT
Elon continues its home stand on Saturday night, Jan. 21, when the Phoenix hosts William & Mary. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Gym.