Elon MBB Faces Georgetown on Sunday in the BB&T Classic

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team looks to further its historic start to the 2016-17 season on Sunday afternoon when they face the Georgetown Hoyas for the third time in program history, Dec. 4, inside the Verizon Center as part of the BB&T Classic. Tipoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.
GATE NOTES

COVERAGE
The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) and on the Fox Sports GO app. Dave Sims and Ron Thompson will have the call from the Verizon Center. You can also listen to the action on the Elon IMG Sports Network on 104.5 FM, 1200 AM or on the TuneIn app as Taylor Durham and Ryan Meizinger will be on the call. The Elon basketball pregame show begins at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Phoenix furthered its best start in 29 years improving to 6-1 overall with an 84-81 overtime victory over Florida International on Wednesday in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix never trailed in the overtime period and took a four-point lead on a Brian Dawkins dunk on an assist from Dainan Swoope with 24 seconds to play. Brian Dawkins led Elon with 17 points while Tyler Seibring (16), Luke Eddy (13), Steven Santa Ana (13) and Karolis Kundrotas (12) also reached double figures in scoring. Elon shot 44 percent for the game and held FIU to 39 percent shooting.

Seibring and Santa Ana each scored seven early points to give Elon a 14-8 lead with 11:40 to play in the first half. Swoope followed with a 3-pointer to stretch the advantage to nine. The Phoenix held a 22-14 lead at the under-8 timeout of the first half before the Panthers used a 12-0 run to take a four-point lead. Kundrotas, Seibring and Eddy each sank 3-pointers in the final minutes of the first half to give Elon a 34-30 lead at the break. The Phoenix built a 19-point lead in the second half before the Panthers cut Elon’s advantage to one with less than eight minutes to play. Elon led 64-55 after a three-point play by Karolis Kundrotas with 3:25 left.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday will be the third all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Hoyas and the second in the last four seasons. The Hoyas hold a 2-0 lead in the series. In the last matchup, Georgetown defeated Elon, 85-76, on Dec. 17, 2013 inside the Verizon Center.

ELON CRACKS MID-MAJOR POLL
The Elon University men’s basketball team cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll today, Nov. 28, earning a No. 23 ranking. It’s Elon’s first appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 since Feb. 4, 2013, when the Phoenix earned a No. 25 ranking. The Phoenix is off to its best start in 29 years and is currently on a four-game winning streak after winning the NIU Thanksgiving Classic last week. The maroon and gold stands at 6-1 overall thus far. Elon joins UNCW (6-1) as the only other CAA team in the Mid-Major Top 25.

The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll is now in its eighteenth season of existence. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.

LUKE EDDY NAMED CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior guard Luke Eddy was named the CAA Player of the Week on Nov. 27 after averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 2.7 assists to help Elon finish 3-0 last week as the Phoenix captured the NIU Thanksgiving Classic. The Charleston, W. Va. native went 6-for-6 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from three, and scored a season-best 25 points in a win over Cal Poly in the tournament finale. In addition, Eddy also had 10 points and five assists against host Northern Illinois and eight points vs. UIC. For the week, Eddy was 7-for-8 from beyond the arc and shot 64.7% overall to help lead the Phoenix to its best start in 29 years with a 5-1 mark.

With the award, Eddy earns his second-career conference player of the week honor. He was named CAA Player of the Week on Dec. 15, 2014 after coming off the bench to score a career-high 27 points in a narrow 78-73 setback at Missouri on Dec. 11, 2014. Eddy earns Elon’s fourth CAA Player of the Week honor since the Phoenix joined the league. The last player to earn player of the week accolades was Tanner Samson last season on Dec. 7, 2015.

EDDY NOMINATED FOR NABC GOOD WORKS TEAM
Eddy was nominated for the 2017 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Team® on Wednesday. A senior captain and a two-time CAA Academic All-Team honoree, Eddy has been involved in numerous community service activities throughout his entire career as a Phoenix. His community service and leadership activities include Village Tutoring, Special Olympics, CHAMPS clinic, ELONTHON, Elon Athletics Thank-a-Thon, the Student-Athletic Advisory Committee Blood Drive and volunteering at the local Turrentine and Smith elementary schools. The Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams® recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport. This esteemed award honors an outstanding group of student-athletes who represent the sport’s finest in the areas of community service and leadership among their peers.

HEAD COACH MATT MATHENY
Head coach Matt Matheny won his 110th game at Elon on Thursday, Nov. 17, at South Florida. With the win, he passed Mark Simons for the fifth most in program history. Matheny currently has 114 career victories and is two wins away from moving into fourth all-time. Robert “Bob” Burton (1986-93) won 115 games at Elon.

HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
The Phoenix is currently averaging 86.0 points per game, which is first in the CAA and ranked in the top-20 in NCAA Division I (T-20). Elon is currently shooting 49.8 percent from the field, which ranks 25th nationally and its 9.9 three-pointers made per game ranks 23rd in the country.

Elon has brought back most of its players from last season that contributed to the fourth-highest scoring team in the CAA. The Phoenix averaged 75.9 points per game, were second in the CAA with 15.3 assists per game, and a league-best 9.5 triples per game. Dainan Swoope and Tyler Seibring contributed to Elon’s success behind the three-point line ranking 12th (60 3PTM) and 13th (59 3PTM) respectively. Luke Eddy also finished with 144 assists last season, which is the 10th-most assists in Elon single-season record books.

332 AND COUNTING
The Elon men’s basketball program has made at least one three-point field goal in 332 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The last time Elon did not make a three in a game was Jan. 30, 2006, at Georgia Southern when the team went 0-of-14 from deep. Elon is currently averaging 9.9 triples per game, which ranked 23rd in the NCAA this season.The Phoenix averaged 9.5 made three pointers a game last season.

ABOUT ELON
Elon returns an experienced squad of 14 players and four starters from a team that finished 16-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play in 2015-16. The Phoenix brings back 11 players who saw action in 16 or more games and six players who averaged over eight points a game last season. Elon welcomes back four starters in seniors Luke Eddy (10.5 ppg) and Christian Hairston (8.6 ppg), as well as junior Dmitri Thompson (9.9 ppg) and sophomore Tyler Seibring(9.8 ppg). Ryder Bowline and Patrick Ryan join Eddy and Hairston to make up this year’s senior class. Elon returns 84% of its scoring from last season and 36% of those points came from the 2015-16 freshman class (Tyler Seibring, Steven Santa Ana, Dainan Swoope, Karolis Kundrotas, and Sheldon Eberhardt). Highlighting the four returning starters is 2016 CAA All-Rookie Team selection, sophomore forward Tyler Seibring,
who finished fourth on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and first in CAA points per game (11.8). Elon also made one addition in the offseason, bringing freshman guard Seth Fuller (Dublin, Ohio) into the fold. Luke Eddy and Christian Hairston will bring senior leadership on the floor. Eddy finished third in the CAA in assists last season and his 144 assists ranked 10th most in single-season program history.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
The Georgetown Hoyas (4-4) have earned victories against USC Upstate, Oregon, Howard and Coppin State so far the season. The Hoyas were picked to finish fourth in the Big East after a 15-18 season in 2015-16. Junior forward Isaac Copeland was selected to the All-Big East Preseason Second Team and junior guard L.J. Peak was an All-Big East Honorable Mention selection. The 2016-17 squad has more experience despite losing All-Conference guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera. Eight other players from last year return who all averaged double-digit minutes. A couple of transfers have joined the fold, including graduate transfer Rodney Prior who averaged 18.3 points and 8.0 rebounds last season at Robert Morris.

UP NEXT

The Phoenix returns home on Tuesday, Dec. 6, to host UNC Asheville inside Alumni Gym. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be aired exclusively on Phoenix All-Access.