Phoenix Comes Home to Take on Navy

ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix returns to the hardwood on Monday night looking to bounce back from a defeat at Maryland in its last outing by taking on the Navy Midshipmen from the "Nest" at 7 p.m. The Phoenix men sit at 4-5 overall on the year and had won three straight before the loss to the Terps. Navy boasts a 10-4 record after defeating Wofford 75-70 on Friday night in Annapolis, Md.

Friday's game can be heard live on 920 AM WPCM. Phoenix All-Access will also video stream the game at www.elonphoenix.com.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Elon and Navy in men's basketball.

Despite ranking eighth in the Southern Conference in scoring offense (66.3 ppg), the Phoenix leads in the league in assists, averaging 16.4 helpers per outing. Elon also rates fifth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 71.1 points per game. From beyond the arc, the Phoenix is one of the best in the league both shooting and defending the trey. Elon sits fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (36.1) and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (33.3).

Through nine games, Chris Long has a team-best 58 assists. In the most recent NCAA rankings, Long rated 23rd nationally by averaging 6.3 assists per game.

In those same rankings, Ola Atoyebi ranked 21st nationally with a 59.7 field goal percentage. As a squad, Elon placed 25th nationally in assists (17.0 per game) and 39th nationally in fouls per game (16.1 committed per outing).

Elon is led by Brett James who is averaging 15.6 points per game and is second on the team lead with 5.2 rebounds per contest. Atoyebi paces the team with 5.8 caroms per outing and is also scoring in double figures, averaging 14.2 points per game.

James, a senior guard, netted 16 points against Lees-McRae to eclipse the 1,000-pooint mark for his career. James became the 32nd member of the 1,000-point club in the 100-season history of the Elon program and the first since Chris Chalko eclipsed the 1,000-point mark on Feb. 19, 2007 against Chattanooga. His 1,050 career points place him 25th on the school's all-time list.

A year ago, Elon surrendered 80+ points in just four outings (91 at Virginia, 89 at UNC Greensboro, 86 vs. College of Charleston in overtime and 81 vs. UT Martin). Elon won one of those games (CofC). In four games this year the Phoenix has allowed 80+ twice (92 at West Virginia and 82 at UT Martin).

The 2008-09 season represents the 100th season in the history of the Elon program. The program has not run for 100 consecutive seasons, however, as the school suspended its athletics programs during World War II. The men's basketball team is the second Elon program to reach 100 seasons. The Elon baseball team played its 100th season in 2002 – the first year it made the NCAA Baseball Regionals.

-- ELON --

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