HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Elon University men’s basketball team had four players score in double-figures and combine for 72 points as the Phoenix completed a season sweep of the Hofstra Pride with an 84-70 victory on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
The Phoenix has now won four straight and six of its last seven games with the victory after starting 0-3 in to start conference play. Elon improves to 14-9 overall 6-4 in Colonial Athletic Association.
Tyler Seibring led the way for the Phoenix with a nice all-round game chalking up 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. Brian Dawkins set a new career-high with 22 points and added five boards. Dmitri Thompson added a season-high 17 points and Steven Santa Ana chipped in another 10 for Elon.
Following a putback by Dmitri Thompson, Begley scored a layup to cut the Phoenix’s lead to one, 50-49, with seven seconds remaining. Following a Dainan Swoope free throw, Seibring denied T.J. Williams from scoring a potential game-tying bucket to secure the win.
The Phoenix was red-hot from the floor, making 55 percent (33-of-60) of its shots. Elon also outrebounded the Pride 35-30 in the contest.
“This is a tough league,” said head coach Matt Matheny. “I think our guys came out and didn’t worry about who [Hofstra] had or who they were playing with and focused on being as good as we can be at what we do and I thought offensively we got a lot of stuff in our system. I thought we defended much better in the second half and I think just enough stops and rebounds let our offense pull this out.”
Hofstra (10-13, 2-8 CAA) was led by Justin Wright-Foreman and Brian Bernardi, as each of them scored 20 points apiece. Deron Powers added 14 points and four assists, while Hunter Sabety chipped in 11 for the Pride.
THE RUNDOWN
Led by a 16-point outburst from Dawkins in the first clip, the Phoenix held a nine-point lead, 41-32, at halftime. Elon shot the ball 57 percent from the field in the half and Dawkins was 6-of-7 from the field.
The Phoenix held a 24-21 lead at the midway point of the first half, but Wright-Foreman’s dunk pulled the Pride within one with 9:55 on the clock. That would be the closest Hofstra would reach the Phoenix in the first stanza as Elon pulled out to a 41-32 lead at the break after Seibring drained a three.
After Dmitri Thompson gave the Phoenix a double-digit lead with a layup to open the second half, the Pride responded with an 18-6 run over a seven-minute stretch to take a 53-49 lead with 12:55 remaining.
Defensive plays from the Phoenix helped stop the Pride’s run, including a drawn-charge by Santa Ana with just over 13 minutes left in the contest. A quick 7-0 run by the Phoenix helped Elon jump out in front again, 58-55, following Seibring’s layup at the 10:33 mark.
The closest the Pride would get to Phoenix over the final 10 minutes was after Bernardi’s jumper at the 8:46 mark tied the game a 60-60. Hofstra would come within one of the Phoenix, 64-63, with 6:48 remaining. However, Elon mounted a 20-7 run over the final six and a half minutes to claim the win.
UP NEXT
Elon returns to Alumni Gym on Thursday night, Feb. 2, to host the James Madison Dukes at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcasted nationally on the American Sports Network.
NOTES
– Elon’s four-game conference winning streak marks the largest for the program since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014.
– The last time the Phoenix won at least four-straight conference games was during the 2013-14 season when Elon won eight straight Southern Conference games.
– Brian Dawkins scored a career-high and notched his first-career 20+-point game with 22 against the Pride. He has now scored in double figures a team-high 19 times this season.
– Tyler Seibring continued his stellar play with his fourth 20-point game of the season. He is averaging 20.2 points over the last six games and has scored 20+ points three times during that span.
– Dmitri Thompson scored a season-high 17 points against Hofstra. Steven Santa Ana finished in double-figures for the 14th time this season with 10 against the Pride.
– Elon is now 10-3 this season when leading at halftime and having four or more players score in double figures.
– The maroon and gold outrebounded it opponent for the 13th time this season, besting the Pride with a 40-35 adavantage. Elon is 10-3 overall this season achieving that feat.
– The Phoenix finished the month of January with a 6-3 mark, the best record in the month since going 8-2 in January of 2013.
– Head coach Matt Matheny won his 122nd game tonight. He is now two wins away from moving into third all-time in program history.
– Luke Eddy dished out four assists against the Pride and now has 265 assists for his career. He is 11 away from moving into the top-10 in program history.