Losing to No. 8 University of North Carolina in the Dean Dome is understandable. So is losing on the road to No. 16 San Diego State University.
It's the losses on the road to Dartmouth College and at home against Georgia Southern University and Columbia University that sting, the last of which completed a five-game losing streak for the Elon University men's basketball team. After a win against The Citadel Jan. 12 and a loss to the College of Charleston Jan. 14, Elon University now has an 8-8 record (3-2 in the Southern Conference), a far cry from the 7-2 record they held after a dominating 109-67 victory against Lynchburg College Dec. 11.
After that win, head coach Matt Matheny said, "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. Our road stretch here is going to be difficult, but I think we're ready to face the challenge. Each game presents different adversities."
Each game did present different adversities, but there were similar outcomes and similar problems. In each game, the Phoenix went on dry runs where the team struggled to hit shots.
The trend continued against Georgia Southern and in a 63-44 loss at Charleston, a game in which the Phoenix scored a season-low 44 points and shot a season-low 23.9 percent (16-67) from the field.
"Obviously, we shot very poorly," Matheny said. "Right now, I'm not sure about our mental toughness. We have to be able to be mentally tough defensively to get stops when we are struggling offensively."
The Phoenix also shot just 13.6 percent (3-22) from three-point range and didn't have a single player score in double figures. Sophomore forward Lucas Troutman led the team in scoring with nine points.
Matheny's squad is also having trouble closing out games, going into halftime with leads against Dartmouth, Georgia Southern and Columbia but losing each game.
"I think it's inexperience," Matheny said. "We're inexperienced. We're playing with young guys. College basketball is a tough, grueling 40-minute game. We need to understand that and get better at playing for 40 minutes."
With the team's nonconference schedule in the books, the Phoenix can now focus its full attention on the remaining SoCon schedule. The team's conference record will be important later in the season as it determines the seeding of the SoCon Tournament. A higher seed means a supposedly easier path to the final game, with the winner getting the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Elon will return to action for two home games this week starting at 7 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Samford University, and again at 7 p.m. Saturday against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Additional reporting by Zachary Horner.