ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team plays its first of back-to-back road games on Thursday night, Jan. 23, when the Phoenix takes on Southern Conference leaders Chattanooga. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at McKenzie Arena. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on WPCM 95.1 FM/920 AM.
 
ELON VS. CHATTANOOGA: Thursday marks the 23rd all-time meeting between Elon and Chattanooga. The Mocs hold a slim 12-10 advantage in the all-time series. Elon is 4-6 against UTC in games played in Chattanooga, dropping its last three games to the Mocs inside McKenzie Arena. Elon and Chattanooga split last year's series.
 
LAST MEETING: Elon suffered a 72-68 setback at Chattanooga on Feb. 24, 2013, in its last meeting versus the Mocs. Two days after clinching the Southern Conference North Division title at Samford, Elon saw its six-point lead in the second half turn into a six-point deficit after UTC went on a 14-2 run midway through the period to take a 64-58 lead. Elon trimmed it to two points late, but could not get over the hump. The Phoenix played without Lucas Troutman in the game, as Ryley Beaumont led Elon with 20 points and seven boards.
 
LOOKING BACK: Elon dropped an 84-74 decision to No. 15/16 UMass on Saturday, Jan. 18, inside Alumni Gym. The game marked the first time Elon has hosted a nationally ranked team at Alumni Gym during the school's Division I era. The Phoenix trimmed UMass' lead to seven points late in the second period, but the Minutemen kept the maroon and gold at arm's length down the stretch. UMass held Elon to 34 percent shooting, its lowest percentage of the season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Following Thursday night's game at Chattanooga, Elon shuffles off to Birmingham, Ala., to face the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday night, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. (ET). It marks Elon's first game at Samford since clinching the North Division title at the Pete Hanna Center last season on Feb. 22, 2013.
 
MILESTONE WATCH: Sebastian Koch became the third player on Elon's roster to reach 1,000 career points on Jan. 18 against UMass and now sits at 1,005 career points, joining Lucas Troutman (1,443) and Jack Isenbarger (1,305). Troutman ranks 12th all-time in scoring and needs 14 points to pass Don Haithcox for 11th all-time. Isenbarger is tied with Brett James for 15th all-time in school history. Elon's next closest player to reaching 1,000 career points is Ryley Beaumont (958 points). If Beaumont reaches 1,000 points this season, Elon will be the only team in the nation with four 1,000-point scorers on its current roster.
 
STREAK SNAPPED: Elon snapped a nine-game losing skid at Davidson's Belk Arena on Thursday, Jan. 16, with an 87-85 win in overtime. The win also snapped Davidson's 23-game home winning streak against Southern Conference foes. It marked Elon's first win over the 'Cats since Jan. 20, 2011.
 
HOME COOKING: Over the last three years, Elon has a 29-9 record inside the friendly confines of Alumni Gym. Elon has sold out Alumni Gym 10 times under head coach Matt Matheny, with its most recent sellout coming on Jan. 18 vs. No. 15/16 UMass. Elon is 7-2 at home this year and has won 14-of-17 inside Alumni Gym.
 
ELON IN SOCON PLAY: The Phoenix is in its 11th season as a member of the Southern Conference. Elon is 85-94 (including tournament action) against current members of the Southern Conference since the 2003-04 campaign. Elon went 13-5 against league foes during the regular season last year, winning the SoCon North Division title. Matt Matheny has a 37-39 record in SoCon play.
 
FROM LONG RANGE: Elon currently leads the Southern Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 39 percent and threes made with 163. Sebastian Koch (57) and Tanner Samson (51) rank first and fourth in the league in threes made, respectively. The long-distance duo ranks second and fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage, respectively.
 
BLOCK PARTY: With two blocked shots against No. 15/16 UMass on Jan. 18, Lucas Troutman extended his program-best career mark to 189 blocks. Troutman set Elon's all-time blocks record last season and ranks 10th all-time in Southern Conference history in blocks and needs two to pass UNCG's Kyle Hines (2004-08) for ninth all-time. Troutman is the league's active leader in career blocks.
 
TRACKING THE THREES: Jack Isenbarger enters Thursday's game with 236 career three-pointers made, which ranks second all-time in Elon history behind Chris Kiger's (1994-98) career mark of 259. Isenbarger is the Southern Conference's active leader in career triples.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Lucas Troutman has scored in double figures in 14 of Elon's last 16 games this season and in 43 of the team's last 50 games. Troutman has scored 20 or more points in nine of those contests, including a career-high 28 at Davidson on Jan. 16.
 
KOCH HONORED: Sebastian Koch scored a career-high 27 points at 21st-ranked Colorado on Dec. 13, and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 17. Koch's nine triples are the most in a single game during Elon's Division I era. His 27 points mark the most by an Elon player since Jack Isenbarger's 34-point performance against The Citadel on Feb. 4, 2012.
 
SAMSON HONORED: Tanner Samson was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 10 after scoring a career-high 23 points in an 87-70 win over VMI on Dec. 3. Samson connected on 5-of-8 from three-point land in the win and was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. He added a career-best nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in 36 minutes against the Keydets.
 
HEAD COACH MATT MATHENY: Matt Matheny is in his fifth season as the Elon head men's basketball coach. The 2013 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by the media, Matheny enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 69-77. Matheny was a finalist for CollegeInsider.com's Hugh Durham Award last season, which honors the nation's top mid-major coach.

-- ELON --