Coach Matheny Postgame

ELON, N.C. – Drew Spradlin and Chris Long combined for 55 points as the Elon Phoenix outlasted the visiting Chattanooga Mocs, 83-80, in Southern Conference men’s basketball action from Alumni Gym on Saturday night. Spradlin knocked down 8-of-13 from three-point land en route to a career-high 30 points. Long tied his personal-best with 25, as Elon (4-15, 2-6) put an end to a nine-game losing streak. Both of Elon’s SoCon victories have come against the Mocs (11-9, 3-4).

“I’m very happy, relieved in many ways, to get this win for our players,” Elon head coach Matt Matheny said. “Our guys have been working hard, getting better in our system, but until now they had not been rewarded. Tonight we were rewarded and our players deserve it.”

In a game of peaks and valleys, Elon’s Adam Constantine tied the game for the sixth time of the night on a free throw with 1:44 remaining, 78-78. Ridge McKeither quickly put the Mocs back on top with a layup at the 1:25 mark. Constantine got back to the free throw line, hitting only one of two, and giving the ball back to Chattanooga with the score, 80-79.

On the ensuing possession, TJ Douglas forced a Moc turnover, tipping the ball forward and into Terrance Birdette’s hands. Birdette flew down the court and scored the go-ahead layup with 41 seconds to play. Chattanooga’s Ty Patterson looked for his seventh three-pointer of the night on the next trip down the floor, but the ball clanged off the rim and into the hands of Long. The junior drained two of his 11 free throws on the night to seal the victory for the Phoenix.

Long, who seems to perform at his best when playing against teams with Chattanooga on the jersey, tied his career high with 25 points and added a game-high seven assists. The sharpshooter scored a combined 45 points and tallied 16 assists in the two games against the Mocs this year. Spradlin became the first Elon player to score 30 points since LeVonn Jordan dropped 30 at Wake Forest on Nov. 17, 2006. Birdette also scored in double-figures for the Phoenix with 11 points. Douglas led the team in rebounding for the second straight game, pulling down seven boards including four on the offensive end.

Patterson had a career night for Chattanooga, scoring 28 points on six triples. McKeither added 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Ricky Taylor dumped in 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

‘Swish’ was what most of the fans heard in the first half. The teams combined for 19 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action. Elon made 15 buckets, raining 12 from beyond the arc. The Phoenix had struggled shooting at home this year, but blew its season shooting percentage out of the water in the first period. Elon nailed 15-of-27 (55.6) from the floor, including 12-of-18 (66.7) from downtown.

Chattanooga opened up hot from the field, connecting on five of its first six three-point attempts to take a 25-13 lead. The Mocs pushed their lead to as many as14, 33-19, before Elon began its three-ball barrage. The Phoenix nailed six straight three-pointers en route to a 20-0 run that gave the home team a 39-33 advantage. Chattanooga finally ended a five-minute scoreless stretch at 2:41 on a bucket by Jeremy Saffore. Elon scored nine of the final 13 points in the half and took a 48-39 lead into the break. Spradlin scored 18 of his points in the opening stanza, draining 6-of-7 from long range.   

For the game, Elon shot 44.4 percent and Chattanooga hit on 47 percent of its shots. Elon made it to the free throw line for 27 attempts, compared to only nine by the Mocs. In the last four games, Elon has connected on 78.4 percent from the charity stripe — its season free throw mark is 67.7. UTC held the 39-33 advantage on the glass and outscored Elon 32-10 in the paint.

Elon will look to remain in the win column when it makes the short trip to UNC Greensboro for a 7 p.m. tip at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday, January 28.