Elon University Phoenix (7-2, 2-0 Southern Conference) @ Dartmouth College Big Green (2-7, 0-0 Ivy League)

December 17, 2011 at 12 p.m.

Leede Arena, Hanover, New Hampshire

Coaches: ELON Matt Matheny (third year), DART Paul Cormier (ninth year)

Last Games: ELON vs. Lynchburg College Dec. 11 (W 109-67), DART @ Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne Dec. 13 (L 51-56)

So the Elon men’s basketball team is on a four-game winning streak.

Did anyone expect this? Did anyone expect the Phoenix to be on top of the North Division of the Southern Conference nine games into the season?

But Matt Matheny has his team way above .500 and with the second-best record in the entire Southern Conference.

“I like our start and it does give us a lot of confidence,” Matheny said following Elon’s win over Lynchburg College Dec. 11. “Our guys are very excited about the way we’ve been able to start, not only with the record but with some of the victories we’ve had.”

The victories sure have been an interesting bunch. First was a five-point victory over SEC foe South Carolina, a victory that put Elon on SportsCenter’s Top 10 the day after. Among the other six wins are triumphs over SoCon foes UNCG and Furman and NCAA tournament team Princeton.

Following the Lynchburg rout is another Ivy League foe for Elon in the Darmouth Big Green. The Big Green have actually been a very Little Green this year, off to a porous 2-7 start including four straight losses. They’re coming off six straight games away from Leede Arena, where they host the Phoenix.

“Ivy League competition is pretty tough,” junior forward Egheosa Edomwonyi said after the Lynchburg win. “It would be nice to get that win and increase our confidence as we go out to the west coast to play San Diego State.”

Edomwonyi played perhaps the best game of his career against the Hornets, picking up 12 points and and three rebounds in just 13 minutes of action. Matheny hopes that “Gose” can become a good bench player for the Phoenix, who had seven players score in double-digits against Lynchburg.

“He’s got a chance to make a difference for us,” Matheny said. “He is fresh, he gives us great possessions. The biggest thing for Gose right now is stamina, and we’d like to play him longer possessions. As he knocks the rust off, as he understands exactly what we’re asking him to do, I anticipate those minutes will increase.”

Continuing to make an impact for the Phoenix is freshman guard Austin Hamilton, who picked up 16 points and five assists in the Lynchburg game. He is combining with sophomore Jack Isenbarger to make the point guard position a strong spot for Elon.

“I’m just trying to play my role as the point guard here,” Hamilton said, “whether it’s scoring, dishing the rock off. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help my team win.”

For the Phoenix, the Big Green players they’ll have to key in on are senior guard/forward David Rufful and junior guard R.J. Griffin, who are both averaging 10.1 points per game. Rufful is shooting 58% from the three-point range, but the team as a whole shoots 38% and is averaging just 32 rebounds a game.

After the Lynchburg game, Matheny made a comment about how Elon players need to learn how to adjust to rebounds. Lynchburg shot a lot of long shots and missed a fair amount. Instead of setting up for a long rebound, Phoenix players ran towards the basket. The rebound would often jump over their head back into the hands of Hornets.

The rebound game is something that has been a problem for the Phoenix, but Matheny is working on it, calling it the “Achilles’ heel” of the team.

“We have not been able  to rebound offensively this year very well,” Matheny said. “To be a real good team, you need more than 12 (rebounds) offensively. So we’ve still got a lot of work to do well. I didn’t feel like we rebounded intelligently (against Lynchburg).”

Something to look out for as the Phoenix take on the Dartmouth Big Green Saturday in Hanover.

Predicted Starters

ELON: Fr. G Austin Hamilton (10.1 ppg-3.1 apg-2.1 rpg), So. G Sebastian Koch (9.8-2.0-6.1), Sr. G Drew Spradlin (11.4-2.2-4.7), So. F Ryley Beaumont (5.1-0.8-5.4), So. F Lucas Troutman (13.3-0.4.-5.0)

DART:  Sr. G/F David Rufful (10.1-1.4-3.6), Jr. G R.J. Griffin (10.1-1.8-2.2),  Fr. F Gabas Maldunas (9.2-0.4-5.4), Fr. F Jvonte Brooks (5.9-1.4-5.4), Sr. G Jabari Trotter (5.1-2.2-2.0)