The Elon Phoenix
had arguably its best regular season is school history but tournament
aspirations fell short in the SoCon semifinal against the College of Charleston
Cougars. The Cougars led from start to finish as the Phoenix was never able to
claim a lead or even tie the score at any point. The Cougars opened the game on
an 11-0 run and coasted to a 25-19 halftime lead. The Cougars scored eight of
the first 10 points in the second half and were able to build the lead to 12
points, 44-32, with 12:32 remaining in the contest. Elon fought back , though,
and had the lead down to two points, the smallest margin in the entire game,
with seven minutes to go, before the Cougars went on another 8-2 run. The
Cougars were clutch from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the
game, connecting on eight of their final ten attempts from the stripe to seal a
68-60 win and a berth to the Southern Conference Championship game.
Senior guard Andrew Lawrence scored
a team-high 19 points for the Cougars, hitting 7 of his 9 free throw attempts,
while also draining two three-pointers. Junior forward Willis Hall recorded a
double-double for the Cougars with 16 points and ten rebounds, while sophomore
center Adjehi Baru posted 9 rebounds and scored 8 points, including four clutch
free throws in the waning minutes of the game.
The Phoenix offense could never get
into rhythm after a rocky start to the contest. Elon scored just 2 points in
the first seven minutes of the game and shot a woeful 29.6 percent from the
field in the first half. The Phoenix struggled to shoot the ball in the second
half as well as they finished the game shooting 39.6 percent from the field (21
for 53), including just 3 of 11 from behind the arc. Free throws were an issue
for the Phoenix who made shot just 15 of 24 (62.5 percent) from the stripe,
while the Cougars drilled 19 of their 23 free throw attempts.
Junior and third all-team Southern
Conference guard Jack Isenbarger was held scoreless on 0 of 6 shooting. Isenbarger
was second on the team in scoring for the Phoenix (13.6 ppg) entering the
contest but could never get anything going offensively. Junior forward Lucas
Troutman scored a game-high 23 points for the Phoenix, while senior guard Josh
Bonney scored 15 points in 16 minutes in his final game for the Phoenix.
The College of Charleston Cougars,
the third seed in the SoCon Tournament, will challenge the top seeded Davidson Wildcats
for the conference championship tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2.
The Elon Phoenix should feel proud
after an impressive season, which included 21 wins (their most since joining
Division 1 play), 13 conference victories and their second North Division Title
in school history. The Phoenix have a great chance to repeat as North champions
and make another deep run in the tournament with all five of their starters
returning. Sophomore guard Austin Hamilton will also return for the Phoenix,
who was sidelined for the season after he tore his ACL on January 14th
against Western Carolina. Hamilton started at point guard in his freshman
season and was the teams’ starting point guard this year before going down with
an injury. With so much talented returning, there is no reason not think the
Elon Phoenix can be the best team in the Southern Conference next year and win
the tournament to advance to what would be their first NCAA appearance in
school history. Alas, tonight was a disappointing end to a fantastic season for
the Phoenix and for now the loss will sting for Elon.
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