Home sweet home.
Coming off a brutal 81-66 loss to Appalachian State University Jan. 28 in Boone, the Elon Phoenix men’s basketball team took all three games in Alumni Gym this past week. It began with a marathon, 99-98 double-overtime win over the College of Charleston Feb. 2. Sophomore guard Jack Isenbarger then scored 34 points to lead Elon to a 71-66 victory over The Citadel Feb. 4. Two days later, Elon shook a monkey off its back when the Phoenix defeated Appalachian State 82-59, the first time an Elon men's basketball team has beaten the Mountaineers since Feb. 14, 2008.
The rout symbolized by the team play head coach Matt Matheny has been proud of.
“We as a team, we have team chemistry,” said sophomore guard Sebastian Koch. “We are together all the time. If one player’s down, like Austin (Hamilton), we stick together, play as a team, just help each other out.”
Koch was referring to the freshman guard who missed all three games due to a bout with mononucleosis. Hamilton sits third on the team in points per game (10.8) and first in assists per game (3.2).
“I think that we have enough talent that you really never know who it’s going to be (that plays well),” senior guard Drew Spradlin said. “It could be (Sebastian), it could be Jack, it could be me, (sophomore forward) Lucas (Troutman). I don’t know how many guys have had 20-point games, but quite a few.” Five Phoenix have had 20 point games this season.
Isenbarger has especially stood out. Since playing Samford University Jan. 19 in the place of a then-struggling Spradlin, Isenbarger has averaged 21.4 points per game in seven games. Since Hamilton went out, he is averaging 23.3 points per contest.
“I guess I’m just trying to improve on the 1 with Austin gone,” he said. “He’s been so big for us this year and I’ve just been working on taking advantage of the opportunities that you get when you play the point.”
Isenbarger caught fire against The Citadel, hitting 11-of-16 from the field, 5-of-8 from three-point range, and adding four assists and four rebounds to his career-high in points.
“Jack’s playing really well,” Matheny added. “When anybody goes out of the lineup, particularly playing the amount of minutes that Austin has, people have to step up. Jack’s put at a different position where he’s got the ball in his hands a lot.”
The wins have put Elon at 13-10 overall, 8-4 in the Southern Conference, back in first place in the North Division of the SoCon, one game ahead of UNC-Greensboro. The Phoenix will need that momentum going into a pair of games on the road, playing the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Feb. 9 and Samford University Feb. 11.
“We’ve got a big road stretch coming here,” Spradlin said. “Samford’s playing really well, Chattanooga’s playing pretty well. (Chattanooga is) tough, they’re one of the most talented teams in the league. We’re going to have to go in playing really well to beat Chatt.”
Despite the standings, Matheny and his players refuse to look at records and let their first-place standing affect their play, even though they say a banner in Alumni Gym for a North Division title would be nice.
“At the end of the season (it’s time to look at standings),” he said. “If you really think about it, it’s better than not being in first place, but it means absolutely nothing. You don’t get anything for it. Better win the next one. And if we were not in first place, better win the next one. So it really doesn’t matter.”
Disregarding the standings, the Phoenix continues to rely on their team toughness and chemistry to push them through the grueling schedule remaining.
“I think we’re competing together,” Matheny said. “I think we’re beginning to understand that we need to be warrior-esque to beat anybody in the conference. We’re not there, but I think we’re headed in the right direction, we’re going. I’m really encouraged with the way our guys are sticking together and fighting together.”
Isenbarger looked at the homestand as a way to prepare for the Southern Conference Tournament March 2-5 in Asheville. He also pointed to improved mental toughness as the key to Elon’s recent success.
“We played on our heels a little bit against App State (Jan. 28),” he said. “The difference we’ve made these last few games is playing on our toes and being aggressive. We’ve certainly got areas to improve on, but being mentally tougher and finishing the game playing 40 minutes, not taking any plays off, is what we’ve worked on.”