A court storming after the first home game is not a bad way to start the season.
The Elon University men's basketball team kicked off its home season with a 58-53 win against the University of South Carolina Tuesday night in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix took the lead early in the first half and didn't trail again in the contest.
"This is a great win for us," head coach Matt Matheny said. "To be able to beat a BCS school is something we haven't done in our (staff's) three years here. It not only gives our players the belief we can win but it also gives our fans what they had hoped for."
Fans stormed the court after the final buzzer to celebrate beating a team from the Southeastern Conference. Playing a team like South Carolina is one thing, but having the chance to play a SEC school at home and then win is special, said freshman guard Austin Hamilton, who played 32 minutes and scored 12 points in the first start of his career.
"It was a great way to start my career and start the season," Hamilton said. "It's a blessing. I've been dreaming of playing big teams like this for a while. It was neat to see the fans come on the court and support us."
Sophomore forward Lucas Troutman led all scorers with 16 points and junior forward Brett Ervin added nine points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Phoenix defense held the Gamecocks to shoot 31 percent from the field and 11 percent from three-point range, while Elon shot 40 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from behind the arc.
"Our team defense tonight was tremendous," Ervin said. "We fought for the whole 40 minutes. "
Ervin added that "a win like this is going to get everybody interested," and he hopes to see a full crowd in Alumni Gym at 8 p.m. Friday when the team hosts State University of New Jersey Rutgers-Camden.
This game was an important win for the Phoenix program but the team is already looking to make some more noise this season, Hamilton said.
"Getting a win like this is incredible," he said. "This is a great step but we've got to keep elevating"