Light shows, a roaring crowd and a swarm of Carolina blue: It all seemed too much for the Phoenix to handle. The Elon University men’s basketball team stayed strong despite the adversity, giving the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill a scare but lost its season opener 90-76.
It was their 13th loss when starting the season away from home, but it was a promising performance against the 9th ranked team in the nation and a sign of a bright future for the program. Elon started the season with nine returning players and brought back 54% of its scoring from last season.
Elon began the season with senior Sam Sherry getting the first points of the season. For the first few minutes, it was a back-and-forth flurry of shots going down from both sides. Both North Carolina and Elon couldn’t seem to miss. The All-American and former ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis hit a 3-pointer, then Elon sophomore Nick Dorn hit one and then North Carolina’s Seth Trimble hit a fadeaway to get the crowd going. Five minutes in, both squads were 60% from the field and Elon led 14-13.
Senior Sam Sherry attempts to score in the paint despite numerous North Carolina defenders on Nov. 4.
Dorn led the way for the Phoenix early, knocking down a few 3-pointers. Dorn led Elon in 3 pointers with 60 last season and was named to the CAA All-Rookie team. Head coach Billy Taylor said he believes Dorn’s success came from his ability to believe in himself and take good shots.
“We were picked 12th in the preseason. Not many people gave us much of a chance at all in here tonight,” Taylor told Elon News Network in a postgame press conference. “But our kids don't believe in any of that nonsense. They believe in themselves. So what you saw was a result of that. Nick Dorn believes in himself. We believe in him.”
Graduate student transfer Matthew Van Komen — who is tied for the third tallest player in college basketball right now at 7-foot-4 — got into the action early and secured his first block of the season.
Graduate Student Matthew Van Komen extends his arms to block a shot during a game against North Carolina on Nov. 4.
Early in the first half, the Tar Heels went on a scoring drought — making only 1 of their last 9 shots. Elon took advantage of this and secured a 19-17 lead thanks to the efforts of Sherry, who managed 8 points and 3 rebounds in the opening minutes.
However, North Carolina wouldn’t struggle to score for long. The Tar Heels proceeded to go on a 15-2 run, bringing the score to 32-21 as Elon found it difficult to knock their shots down. North Carolina showcased its prowess during this run, setting up multiple alley-oops, each sending the crowd into a more raucous frenzy than the last.
Dorn said he enjoyed playing in the environment of Smith Center.
“It was a great feeling playing here,” Dorn told Elon News Network in a postgame press conference. “It was very loud, you feel it on the court when everybody started jumping. I love playing environments like that, it just brings the best out of me.”
Taylor then called a timeout, trying to get the Phoenix to regroup. It worked somewhat as Elon started to fight back, cutting the lead to 5 as they went on a 13-2 run.
North Carolina regained the momentum in the final minutes of the half, however, and went into the half up 51-39. The two teams were almost identical in shot percentage, but Elon had found less opportunities and had five more turnovers.
Jalen Washington got the Tar Heels going in the second half from the jump. Washington scored 6 early points. North Carolina maintained a healthy double digit lead throughout most of the second half, but Elon never went away completely.
Elon’s will to fight back was partially due to the support of Phoenix fans in the Smith Center. Despite an overwhelming number of Tar Heels fans, late in the second half, chants for the Phoenix began to get louder and louder. North Carolina fans countered with boos and louder chants of their own.
Partially with their bench in, the underdogs made an incredible comeback off a 14-0 run, taking the lead 71-69. The comeback was aided by the twin brothers duo of TK and TJ Simpkins. TK — who led Elon in scoring last year — scored 14 points. TJ transferred from Northwest Florida State College over the offseason, and outdid his brother, scoring 18 in his debut. Sherry also performed admirably with 15 points and 8 rebounds but was taken out of the game for a little while after a controversial flagrant foul. Dorn helped out with his usual contribution of 3-pointers, finishing with 17 points.
Taylor praised the team’s ability to stay with North Carolina and come back to tie it despite a double digit deficit.
“We know Carolina's capable of taking it from 10 to 20 in a heartbeat, but our guys continued to stay with it,” Taylor said. “They didn't get away from the game plan. I love the tenacity that we showed, and we kind of embodied what we can become this season.”
However, a 3-pointer from Davis gave the Tar Heels the lead back, and the Smith Center transformed into a cacophony of noise as life returned to the North Carolina squad. Another North Carolina 3-pointer soon after sealed Elon’s fate. The Tar Heels scored 11 straight points and dealt the finishing blow.
It was still a promising showing for the Phoenix, who were projected to finish 12th in the CAA Preseason Poll.
Taylor said he was proud of the team’s effort.
“The fact that we were down double digits on the road against a top 10 team, and we continued to fight back, and we got contributions from a lot of different people that stepped up and helped us, I was really proud of our team for that effort,” Taylor said.
Dorn was disappointed at the final minutes, but said he believes the team can fix the mistakes they made. He also said their performance gives the team more confidence going forward.
“It just gives us a lot more confidence going into any opponent that we play and the rest of the schedule,” Dorn said. “We played a top team in the nation, so the rest of our schedule is like,‘We can do damage.’”
Taylor highlighted the contributions of Elon’s bench, who were crucial in the team’s late second half comeback.
“It just shows the versatility that we have and that we have someone like Tajaun that can come off the bench and score 18,” Taylor said. “We have a very good team, and now it's just a matter of us going back and tightening up some of the areas that we didn't feel we were as sharp on, and hopefully we can be better the next time we step on the floor.”
Elon next plays its home opener against Bluefield University at 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at Schar Center.