The Elon University men’s basketball team dropped its Southern Conference opener on Saturday Jan. 4 to Western Carolina University, 74-62, in Cullowhee, N.C.
The Phoenix, coming off a blowout loss to No. 7 Duke University, was once again troubled by turnovers. Elon committed 23 of them, and the Catamounts capitalized by scoring 28 points by virtue of them.
Elon (20-44, 45.5 percent) shot the ball better than Western Carolina (28-65, 43.1 percent), but the Catamounts made 80 percent of their free throws. The Phoenix was just 17 of 26 at the charity stripe despite making 11 of 18 in the first half.
Western Carolina (9-8, 2-0) held a tight 32-30 lead at halftime, but led by as many as 12 and was in command for much of the first frame. Elon went on a 15-4 run in the final 5:53 to trim the deficit entering the break.
After the Phoenix took its first lead of the afternoon, 39-38 with 16:03 to go, the Catamounts began to break the game open. Western Carolina led, 58-49, with just over eight minutes to go, and used a 9-0 run to take a 17-point lead with 5:46 remaining.
The Phoenix made just 5 of 14 from long distance, and had virtually no production from its bench. Junior guard Kevin Blake was the only non-starter to score, tallying five points in 13 minutes. Senior guard Jack Isenbarger missed the only two field goals he attempted, both three-pointers, and turned the ball over twice in 21 minutes.
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Junior guard Austin Hamilton was one point short of tying a career-high with 19 points on the day, while senior guard Sebastian Koch added 16 and senior forward Lucas Troutman had 15. Troutman pulled down nine rebounds but had eight turnovers as well.
The Phoenix is now 7-8 overall on the year and 0-1 in SoCon play. Next up is consecutive home games, which could give the team a boost. Elon is 5-1 inside Alumni Gym this year compared to 2-7 in road and neutral site games.
Elon hosts Appalachian State University at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 and The Citadel at 7 p.m. Jan. 11.