The Elon University men’s basketball team defeated Hampton University 70-62 in a game marked by fouls and stellar play from both beyond the 3-point line and in the paint.
Sophomore Nick Dorn, who leads the team with 15.6 points per game, began the game by knocking down an early 3-pointer to get a noisy and energetic Schar Center crowd going. Dorn made another 3-pointer soon after thanks to redshirt sophomore Andrew King who stole the ball by intercepting a Hampton pass.
The opening minutes saw a flurry of lead changes as both teams tried to settle down and establish their game plans, but Hampton stayed around a 5-point lead for most of the first half. Hampton found its lead by employing an aggressive, swarming defense that made shots hard to come by for the Phoenix.
Turnovers and missed shots plagued Elon early on as it went 3-8 from the field to start the game. Elon also had 4 turnovers in the first 7 minutes and Hampton capitalized on it, scoring 7 points off turnovers. Elon finished with 8 turnovers in the first half.
Hampton let off the gas for a short while, allowing Elon to bring the lead within 2, but Hampton quickly regained composure and extended the lead to 7. Dorn continued to dominate for the Phoenix with 12 first-half points thanks to four 3-pointers. One of them was late in the first half and was a spectacular, body-contouring shot that wowed the fans and elicited cheer. Dorn finished the game with 24 points.
“I was able to find a rhythm,” Dorn said in the postgame press conference. “My teammates found me in the spots that they know I like to shoot.”
Toward the end of the first half, both teams discovered an unforgiving rim as Hampton missed 7 of 8 shots and Elon went on a 3-minute scoring drought.
Elon recovered, however, and finished the half. The team made 4 of its last 5 shots of the half and a buzzer-beater dunk from graduate student Matthew Van Komen brought the game to 32-30 at halftime. Amid a rough first half, the buzzer beater made it a one-possession game, giving Elon momentum going into halftime, according to head coach Billy Taylor.
The Phoenix started the second half much better, shooting 60% from the field in the first 9 minutes. Van Komen dominated in the paint and amassed 6 rebounds and 6 blocks — which ties his season high and is one block shy from the program record. He entered the game with a CAA high 9.1 rebounds per game — the highest the program has seen in its Division I era. Van Komen also entered the game with 36 blocks, which is fifth most in the country.
Taylor praised Van Komen’s contributions to the defense.
“He's changed our defense with his ability to protect the rim, his basketball IQ, kind of knowing when to go, and his ability to get back and get defensive rebounds,” Taylor said in the postgame press conference.
Senior Sam Sherry also contributed to the team’s dominance in the paint with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Sherry said it was difficult getting rebounds against Hampton’s aggressive playstyle but was proud with how it turned out.
“They're a great rebounding team. They're one of the top teams in the country in rebounds,” Sherry said in the postgame press conference. “We had to fight through some physicality and ended up coming up with a good win.”
Elon held a narrow lead for most of the opening minutes of the second half before extending the lead to 8 midway through the half thanks to a 4 minute scoring drought by Hampton. The Pirates struggled to get shots to go down, missing shot after shot, and they finished the half 34.3% from the field.
As the game progressed, play became more choppy and aggressive. Two technical fouls were called on Hampton and numerous flagrants were also called on both Elon and Hampton. Hampton finished with 25 fouls. The fouls led to multiple confrontations between the referees and Hampton head coach Ivan Thomas.
Dorn said the team managed to maintain composure throughout the choppy play because they focused on the larger goal.
“We have a bigger goal than just feeding into that,” Dorn said. “That's mainly what teams want to do, but we just want to play basketball, so there's no point in just going back and forth with the team.”
Taylor was happy with how Elon responded to the physicality.
“We just knew it was gonna be one of those games that you have to grind it out,” Taylor said. “It's not gonna be pretty at times, but you just keep competing, keep battling.”
In the final minutes, both teams struggled to get shots to fall, but Elon maintained a comfortable lead and after a Dorn free throw pushed the lead to 12 with 3 and half minutes left, Elon all but wrapped it up. A few late 3-pointers by Hampton made it interesting, but Elon maintained control and won by 8.
Despite missing one of the team’s top scorers junior TK Simpkins due to injury, the team was able to put together an impressive win. Taylor said the team has a next man up mentality.
“We miss the guys that we miss, but we go to work with the guys who are able to play,” Taylor said. “We've been able to get some really tough, gritty wins, and you have to win a little bit differently when you have different combinations, different rotations, and guys step up.”
The win continued Elon’s undefeated performance at home this season and moved them to 11-4. The win also marks the Phoenix’s first 2-0 start in conference play since 2018.
Taylor is happy with the start to CAA play but emphasized the need to learn from it.
“You always celebrate it, but also try to learn from it; ‘What did we do well, what things we continue to work on, what adjustments do we need to make?”’ Taylor said.
Elon steps onto the court again Jan. 9 at William & Mary.