Saturday nights in Schar Center last season were often defined by drives to the basket by TK Simpkins and 3-pointers by Nick Dorn that elicited an eruption of cheers from the crowd. But as a new season in the transfer portal era begins, rosters change. 

The first home Saturday night game of the 2025-26 season saw a Schar Center crowd witness a mix of physicality and 3-point prowess from newcomers  graduate student forward Chandler Cuthrell and junior guard Randall Pettus II, and a hint of the differences from last year’s squad to this roster, who can shoot lights out from the 3-point line, but lacks the size of last year’s team.

Elon University men’s basketball’s 95-84 win over Gardner-Webb University on Nov. 15 improved their record to 3-1. Elon is off to a hot start this season, leading the Coastal Athletic Association in points and 3-pointers per game. 

Elon began the game with a turnover, but not many mistakes would follow that. Pettus kicked off the Phoenix’s offense with a 3-pointer, setting the tone for an Elon barrage from beyond the arc. Pettus was coming off a prolific first three games where he made 50% of his 3-point attempts.

Elon played fast-paced basketball in the first half, relying on fast breaks and 3-pointers to keep Gardner-Webb gassed and looking for answers. It was a tight game for the first couple of minutes, but a 7-0 run by Elon started the lead that Elon would never relinquish. During the run, Gardner-Webb missed six straight shots, which became the norm for them. Gardner-Webb struggled from the midrange during the first half, shooting 38% from the field.

Pettus continued his success from deep, scoring his second 3-pointer of the game and immediately followed it with a steal and a fast break layup. Success from the 3-point line proved to be the difference in a lopsided first half as Gardner-Webb finished 0-13 from beyond the arc in the first half and Elon had a 53% 3-point percentage.

Head coach Billy Taylor said that the defense did a good job of forcing Gardner-Webb into tough shots, leading to the missed 3-pointers.

“Our game plan was to really try to make sure that we kept the defender on the ball,” Taylor said. “We didn't want to really overextend ourselves. We thought if we could keep our defense solid, stay in front of them, it could force them into late clock situations and force them into tougher shots,” Taylor said.

Elon made four of their first six 3-pointers, thanks to the efforts of Pettus and Cuthrell. Cuthrell notched 13 points and 5 rebounds in the first half with a trio of 3-pointers. Cuthrell is off to an electric start to the 2025 campaign, leading the CAA with an average of 23 points per game entering Saturday’s game. He was coming off a career-high 28 points in Elon’s loss to Marshall. 

Elon’s reliance on the 3-pointer was apparent as eight of their first 12 field goals were 3-pointers. Elon entered the game having made 10+ 3-pointers in three straight games for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

Taylor was impressed with the team’s first half performance.

“The first 25 minutes, we played exceptionally well,” Taylor said. “We shared it, our defense was terrific. We were really locked in.”

Graduate student forward Kacper Klaczek, who entered the game averaging 15 points per game, had a quiet half, though. He only scored three points. Elon entered halftime with a 22-point lead. Cuthrell and Pettus each had 13 points. 

Gardner-Webb, however, came out of the half and found a rhythm shooting the ball. Midway through the second half, Gardner-Webb went on a 16-2 run off several careless Elon turnovers that closed the lead to 15. Before the game, Elon was averaging 6.7 turnovers per game, but had 15 turnovers in the game. 

Taylor said the team got sloppy in the second half.

“We've got to be able to grow up and play with a little bit more maturity,” Taylor said. “It's understanding, ‘Like guys, we can get whatever shot we want. Just move it side to side and don't settle for the first shot.’ So we kind of settled for the first shot early. Then we started waiting too long, and we were a little disorganized and had some silly turnovers.”

Junior forward Isaac Harrell said that Elon allowed Gardner-Webb to get to the paint more in the second half and got outrebounded.

Elon kept the foot on the gas pedal, though, thanks to Cuthrell. Cuthrell finished with a career high 29 points and 8 rebounds. In the second half, instead of shooting 3-pointers, he established a presence in the paint and scored most of his points driving to the basket and drawing fouls. 

Cuthrell said he made an effort to go to the paint more often since he felt that he had been staying around the 3-point line too much in previous games.

“This game, I wanted to make sure I made more of a paint presence and establish more dominance in the paint rather than just setting around the three point line, just making the defender's job easier to guard me,” Cuthrell said.

Pettus also continued to contribute and finish with 21 points. 

Soon enough, Elon returned to a 20+ point lead. Gardner-Webb continued to try and get back in the game and ended up getting the lead to only nine, but Elon held on and clinched their second home victory of the season. 

Harrell said he told the team to calm down as Gardner-Webb started to come back.

“We're really good when we're under control, and we just need to come down the floor, get a set every time, not rush because we knew we'd get the shot we wanted every time,” Harrell said.

Taylor said that he was happy with the team’s resolve and their ability to win by double digits.

“They continued to battle and fought and tried to scramble the game, got a little bit ugly and chaotic, and we've got to learn how to play in those situations still early in the season, so we'll get better at it,” Taylor said.

Elon plays next at the University of Miami Nov. 20.