ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball had five players score in double figures and rolled to a 98-45 victory in its lone exhibition game on Tuesday night, Oct. 30, against Randolph College to tip off its opening season in Schar Center.
Dainan Swoope, Karolis Kundrotas, Federico Poser, and Chuck Hannah all scored 11 points apiece, while Sheldon Eberhardt added 10 points to round out Elon’s five players in double figures. Eberhardt also chipped in seven rebounds and four assists on the night. Hannah additionally finished with a team-best eight rebounds for the Phoenix.
“We’re excited to get the season underway,” said head coach Matt Mathney. Tonight’s exhibition went how we’d hoped in the sense that we were able to play a lot of guys, play a lot of different combinations and play extended minutes for a lot of our players.”
Randolph was led by Brian Smith and Evan Makle as they each scored a team-high eight points. Justin Dula and Chip Pinner both grabbed a team-high five rebounds and Jerry Goodman had a team-best two assists.
HIGHLIGHTS
Elon got off to a strong start with a 15-4 run, which was capped off by Federico Poser’s layup on a fast break with 14:25 on the clock. The Phoenix then extended its lead to 20 after Kris Wooten drained a three-pointer at the 6:09 mark to give the Phoenix a 34-14 advantage.
Randolph never led in the half and the closest it got to the Phoenix was 17 points the remainer of the half as Elon took a 45-24 lead at the break. Eberhardt had 10 points and six rebounds to lead the team at the half.
After both teams were nearly even for the first three minutes, Elon began to pull away as a quick 10-0 spurt put the Phoenix up 59-29, forcing the WildCats to call a timeout. The Phoenix continued to surge ahead as a thunderous dunk by Poser at the 12:38 mark started a 6-0 run to extend Elon’s lead to 40 points at 72-32 with just over 11 minutes to play.
The Phoenix carried its strong play down the final stretch of the contest as Elon earned the 53-point victory in its lone exhibition contest.
NOTES
– Elon improves to 13-0 all-time in exhibition contests under head coach Matt Matheny with the victory over Randolph.
– The Phoenix shot the ball 47.4 percent from the floor, including at a 51.7 percent clip in the second half.
– Defensively, Elon forced 25 Randolph College turnovers in the contest.
– Five Phoenix finished scoring in double figures, with three more two points or less away from tallying double digits.
– The Phoenix improves to 3-0 in exhibitions against Randolph College with the win.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix opens up its 2018-19 campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 6, with a road contest at Manhattan. Elon will then host the North Carolina Tar Heels in its home opener on Friday, Nov. 9, for a 7 p.m. contest in Schar Center.