Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Feb. 26, 2004, edition 1 / Page 22
Part of Elon University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page 22 • Thursday, February 26, 2004 SPORTS The Pendulum Men’s basketball looks to lock up third seed against UNC-G With victory, Phoenix would win tiebreaker against Spartans and face easier first-round opponent Colin Donohue Managing Editor The Elon men’s basketball teain hasn’t had a game like this in years. Saturday’s contest at Alumni Gym against UNC-Greensboro- looms large over the Phoenix, as a victory would secure the third seed for Elon in the upcoming Southern Conference tournament. If Elon wins, both teams will wind up with 7-9 records in the conference. So why does Elon receive the third seed, then? The first tiebreaker is the head-to-head matchup. An Elon win Saturday would split the sea son series at one game a piece. The second tiebreaker is how the teams fared against the highest ranked team not involved in the tie. In the north division - home to Elon and UNC-G - that team is East Tennessee State. Both teams are 0-2 agaiast ETSU, so the next comparison is to UT-Chattanooga, where Elon holds the edge. . The Phoenix defeated Chattanooga 88-70 in December for its first Southem Conference vic tory. In the event that Elon loses to UNC-G, the Phoenix would move into a fourth-place tie with Western Carolina Elon holds the tiebreak er in that iastance as well. Despite the seemingly huge implications of Saturday’s game, head coach Ernie Nestor said it doesn’t come up in practice. “No, we don’t talk about it. It can’t help you win the game,” Ne.stor said. “It’s like when you play in a tournament. If you have to tell your team they’re playing for the tournament cham- pioaship, you don't have a good chance of win ning. The thing you’re most focused on is win ning the g^e. “I don’t make it a big thing. We talk about performance, we talk about playing well, we talk about winning the game. I really believe this in all my heart, that you really never talk about the implications of the game. The kids know what those are.” Guard Scottie Rice does. After Elon’s 68-53 dmbbing of Western Carolina, Rice said play ing well at the clo.se of a season is vital to a team’s chances in the conference tournament. “It’s always important at the end of the year because you get seedings for the tournament,” Rice said. The Phoenix, though, hit a snag Monday when it lost to Georgia Southem 83-80 in over time. Elon was up 44-27 at halftime, but it couldn’t hold the lead, something that has con cerned Nestor all year. “[When] the lead swells a little bit, then all of a sudden we start getting tricky,” Nestor said. “We try to throw over the top. We tiy to go for Play In The Intramural Ping Pong Tournament Come to the interest meeting at 5 p.m. March 2 in Koury Center 141. All skill levels are encouraged to participate! Alex Corey / Photographer Montell Watson (with hall) scored 25 points in a loss against Georgia Southern Monday. Watson will he counted on to control the pace of the game Saturday against UNC-G. passes and take ourselves out of play. It’s like wildfire in the forest. One guy does it, one guy (k)es it, one guy does it, and it has to be stopped. “Sometimes when people get successful, they believe they’re just going to get more suc cess and more si«xess, but they forget why they became successful.” With 8.6 secotxis remaining, Elon’s Matt Nowlin hit two fi^e throws to give the Phoenix a 74-71 lead. But Geoigia Southem guard Terry Williams nailed a 3-pointer from 35 feet out to force the overtime. Georgia Southem never trailed during the extra frame and won 83-80. Montell Watson led Elon with 25 points. Front court mates Jackson Atoyebi and Rasmi Gamble added 18 and 16 points, respectively. Rice had 10. Perhaps Elon’s most consistent effort of the season came Feb. 21 in its victory against Western Carolina The Catamounts brought Kevin Martin - the nation’s leading sewer - into Alumni Gym. But the Phoenix defense allowed Martin to score only 12 points. In fact, he could’ve tallied fewer, but in a Busch-Ieague turn of events, Martin became the only oflfeasive option with less than a minute remaining, scoring four points as a result. Atoyebi had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Nowlin had 20 and Rice added 11. In the last four games. Rice, who’s playing with a tom left medial meniscus, has exuded the grit aixi determination he’s become known for over the last two seasons. In Rice and Nowlin, the Phoenix have a potent one-two puTKh from the outside. “When they get their feet set and their shoul ders toward the basket, they’re pretty good shooters,” Atoyebi said of Rice arxl Nowlin. “It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team when they’re making their shots.” Phoenix Notes: Rice said his custom-made brace is causing his knee no discomfort, and he said he feels as confident now as before he sus tained his knee injury. “It doesn’t bother me at all,” Rice said. “I don’t feel it at all. (The brace] is just protective. I don’t want anything more serious to h^jpen to it” Rice wore a soft brace during Elon’s Tennessee road swing two wedcs ago, and he said he played nxwe tentatively. He plans to play brace-ftee next seasoa “I want to lose iC’ said- “I’*" g°‘"g to wear it next year.” Contact Colin Donohue at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Elon University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 26, 2004, edition 1
22
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75