Freshman forward Tyler Seibring finished his career night with an offensive rebound and an assist, finding freshman guard Dainan Swoope for a 3-pointer to lift the Elon University men’s basketball team over Colonial Athletic Association rival College of Charleston 65-64 Saturday afternoon.
Swoope’s basket from behind-the-arc with 20 seconds left meant Elon needed one final stop, which it got thanks to sophomore guard Dmitri Thompson’s efforts on the defensive end. Thompson contested the final shot and grabbed the rebound to seal the victory for Elon.
The Phoenix trailed by 10 halfway through the second half, but a strong defensive effort led to an 11-0 run over 4:15 for Elon to take the lead, which included three 3-pointers. The teams battled back-and-forth over the final five minutes, ultimately concluding with the Swoope 3-pointer.
For Elon, Seibring set a career-high in scoring with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists. The 33 minutes played is the third-highest total for the freshman starter this season. Elon head coach Matt Matheny also started freshman guard Steven Santa Ana with Seibring, the first time Elon started two true freshmen since Jan. 10, 2009, before Matheny was coaching Elon.
Junior guard Luke Eddy and Swoope also finished with double-digit points for Elon, with Eddy tallying 15 points and Swoope adding 12. Junior guard/forward Christian Hairston had 10 rebounds and five assists, both team highs.
For the College of Charleston, sophomore guard Cameron Johnson led the Cougars with 16 points. Freshman forward Jarrell Brantley added 15, and freshman guard Marquise Pointer and sophomore forward Evan Bailey contributed 12 points each.
Elon, now 12-7 overall and 3-3 in the CAA, returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday Jan. 21 at the College of William and Mary.