Elon 87, VMI 70
ELON, N.C. – Tanner Samson and Lucas Troutman provided the one-two punch the Elon University men’s basketball team needed on Tuesday night, Dec. 3, inside Alumni Gym, as the duo led the Phoenix to an 87-70 victory over the visiting VMI Keydets.
Samson poured in a career-high 23 points and grabbed a career best nine boards in the victory, while Troutman ended the evening with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field.
“It feels really good to get a win going into exams,” said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. “We defended very well tonight against a good VMI team. We’ve had a tough stretch with a lot of games and I think we’re continuing to get better as the season progresses.”
Elon (5-4) stifled VMI (4-4) defensively for most of the game, holding the Keydets well below their 88 points per-game season average and to 39 percent shooting from the field. QJ Peterson, who came into tonight averaging 22.4 points per game, scored 14 points.
As a team, the Phoenix shot 57 percent from the field after knocking down 30-of-53 from the field. Elon has shot 50 percent or better in five games this season. The Phoenix knocked down 6-of-18 from long range, five of which came off the hot hand of Samson.
Elon outrebounded VMI, 37-35, to improve to 3-1 this season when it wins the battle on the glass.
Back-to-back fast-break layups by the Phoenix forced a VMI timeout with 3:42 remaining in the first half following a Sebastian Koch tap in off a Luke Eddy miss that gave Elon a 35-21 lead.
Elon led by as many as 16 points in the opening frame, carrying a 42-31 into the locker room at intermission. Despite shooting an uncharacteristic 22 percent (2-of-9) from long distance in the first half, overall, the Phoenix shot 55 percent in the first 20 minutes.
The Keydets managed to narrow the gap to six points early in the second period, but Elon jumped out to a 13-point lead with 14:54 to play after a Samson triple in the corner to make it a 52-39 game.
Elon’s lead escalated quickly from that point forward, as a VMI technical foul on head coach Duggar Baucom led to two Samson free throws and make from long distance on the free possession, giving the Phoenix a 57-39 advantage.
The maroon and gold increased its lead to as many as 21 points in the second session, as the Keydets could pull no closer than 15 down the stretch.
Presbyterian 87, UNCG 66
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men’s basketball team got off to a slow start Tuesday night and dug itself too deep a hole, as the Spartans dropped an 87-66 decision to visiting Presbyterian at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans return to action Saturday night making their first-ever trip to North Carolina in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.
“You have to give Presbyterian credit,” head coach Wes Miller said. “They did a good job in their zone making us take tough contested shots and we were stagnant and unaggressive on offense. We started pressing once we got down and they were the exact opposite – they were executing and being patient. Our defensive principles and our communication just were not very good tonight.”
The Spartans (4-4) connected on just 35.3 percent (24-of-68) from the field and hit 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from long range in the loss. UNCG also committed 15 turnovers Tuesday night and was out-scored 40-28 in the paint. Presbyterian conversely was strong from the field, hitting 63 percent (29-of-46) from the field and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from long range.
Junior forward Nicholas Paulos led the Spartans with 22 points and seven rebounds. Paulos connected on 6-of-12 from three-point land in the loss and was the only UNCG player over 10 points in the game. Junior forward Kyle Cain posted his third double-double of the season and second straight with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Cain finished the night shooting just 4-of-15 from the field, including missing all six shots in the first half.
Jordan Downing led Presbyterian with 37 points in the victory, as he was 11-of-15 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Danny Herrera added 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting while William Truss posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
After Paulos opened the game with a three-pointer, the Blue Hose ran out to a 13-3 lead with 13 unanswered points as Downing and Herrera hit a pair of early three-pointers. The Spartans started to settle in and kept the game in single digits at 26-18 when Cain hit a pair of free throws after another Paulos three-pointer. Presbyterian had an answer though, scoring 11 straight points to run the lead to 19 before entering the break with a 37-22 lead.
The Spartans 22 first half points were a season-low as they hit just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) form the field and only hit 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes. The Blue Hose on the other hand hit 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field, including 6-of-10 from long range for the 15-point advantage.
UNCG tried to claw back into the game on numerous occasions in the second half, but every time the Spartans made a run, Presbyterian was there with an answer keeping UNCG at bay. Freshman Clay Byrd tried to ignite the offense against the zone with a couple of three-pointers while sophomore Jordan Potts also hit a couple of long range shots, but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit.
Sophomore forward Kayel Locke fell just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds but he hit just 4-of-12 from the field. Freshman guard Tevon Saddler chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and four assists but only connected on 4-of-12 from the field.