When asked if 2,000 career points was in range, Elon University men's basketball junior guard Jack Isenbarger shrugged.

He didn't even know he was hitting 1,000 until a couple of days before the Phoenix defeated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Thursday night in Alumni Gym.

"I didn't know I was coming up to 1,000 until a couple days ago, started getting texts from friends and family, saying, 'Hey, here comes 1,000,'" Isenbarger said following the win. "That's something that you don't really think about."

Isenbarger said he has been fortunate to be able to get a lot of playing time in his career that he could reach that mark. In fact, the Zionsville, Ind., native is just the 10th player in Elon history to reach the mark in the third of his four seasons:

[box]Players Hitting 1K Career Points Mark in Third Season Player - Season Hitting 1K - Career Points 1. Jesse Branson - 1963-64 - 2,241 2. Tommy Cole - 1970-71 - 2,214 3. Lee Allison - 1979-80 - 1,799 4. Dee Atkinson - 1955-56 - 1,799 5. Larry Trautwein - 1971-72 - 1,738 6. Ben Kendall - 1953-54 - 1,653 7. Brendon Rowell - 2000-01 - 1,629 8. Chris Kiger - 1996-97 - 1,579 9. Larry Scott - 1978-79 - 1,424 10. Jack Isenbarger - 2011-12 - 1,018 (as of Jan. 24)

Note: Henry Goedeck scored 1,056 points in his first two years, while three others played three seasons or less for the Phoenix and scored more than 1,000 points. [/box]

And he was quick to point out the amount of time he's been able to play.

"Just know (junior forward) Ryley (Beaumont) and I and (junior forward) Lucas (Troutman) and (junior guard) Sebastian (Koch) had the luxury of playing early as freshmen, so something naturally is going to happen if you play enough games," he said. "The stats, the points. In this system, we like to run and score a lot of points, so that's going to come sort of naturally."

Beaumont said Isenbarger's importance to the team is "hard to put in words."

"It’s somebody who has a high basketball IQ, somebody who can shoot the ball incredibly well," he said. "We know that he’s capable of that at any point in time at any game, and once he starts hitting a few and getting hot, it’s, without being said, ‘Get him the ball.’ If it’s not, it’s going to be a close rebound and get it back out to him for a dagger. We always have complete confidence in our guards and in their shooting ability, especially Jack."

Good thing for Elon, he's not alone. Koch sits fifth in the Souther Conference in three-point percentage (42 percent). Against Chattanooga, freshman guard Tanner Samson hit 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Beaumont was 6-of-8 from the field against the Mocs and is 12th in the conference in field goal percentage (47 percent), while Troutman's 53.2 percent success rate from the field is fifth-best in the SoCon.

Matheny has been saying all season how comfortable he is with the freshman Samson, who has started three straight games since sophomore guard Austin Hamilton went down to an injury.

"He’s getting more comfortable." he said. "And I think he’s starting to take the right shots, and I think he’s getting a better feel for how long he can set his feet to get it off."

During a stretch late in the second half, with Elon's lead all but secured, Samson hit three treys in four shots, increasing the advantage and allowing the Phoenix to play some of the down-the-row bench guys.

The head coach credits it to some after-practice work the guys on the team have been doing recently.

"What I like is after practice, to see Ryley and Tanner, and yesterday Jack joined them, and Basty (Koch), I like them getting extra shots," Matheny said Thursday. "I think it makes a big difference. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll make the big shots in the game, but it helps you feel more confident, more comfortable. And I enjoy that, and I think it’s helped our team."

Beaumont used a weather analogy to describe the Phoenix's remarkable shooting night Thursday (48.5 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from beyond the arc).

"At any time, our team can get hot," he said. "We’ve got shooters everywhere. Jack’s a tremendous shooter, Tanner can really shoot the ball, most of our guards on the team can shoot. At anytime, you have to be ready for it. Tonight, lightning struck pretty heavy."

If the lightning keeps striking, continuing this afternoon against The Citadel at 2:05 p.m., the rest of the SoCon may need to get to shelter before they get hit.