the pendulum
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 9. 2011 // PAGE 15
Foundation set
for the future of
men’s basketball
Conor O’Neill
Assistant Sports Editor
From the beginning
of the men’s basketball
season Nov. 12, Elon
University head coach
Matt Matheny said a focus
of the team was to build on
the solid foundation that
had been established last
year in his first season as
head coach.
It was a mantra that
held firm through the
team's 4-1 start in the
newly renovated Alumni
Gym, as well as through
the five-game losing streak
from Jan. 27 to Feb. 9.
The Phoenix’s season
came to a close with a
78-60 loss to the College
of Charleston March 5
in Chattanooga, Tenn. at
the Southern Conference
Tournament.
“This year was a very
big step forward for our
program, and it is more
than just the number of
wins,” Matheny said. “We
have a stronger foundation
with the way our guys
interact with each other,
with the way our guys
appreciate our program,
with the way our guys like
our coaches and interact
with our coaches.”
Finishing with a 14-
17 overall record and
7-11 conference mark
shows improvement from
Matheny’s first season,
when the team was 9-23
and 5-13.
But Matheny made
it clear throughout the
season that the team’s
improvement would be
measured in more than
just records.
“We want to continue
to take steps forward, and
I’m encouraged,” Matheny
said. “We took a good step
last year, we laid a firm
foundation and we have
now solidified the base.”
Elon’s first conference
game, an 85-74 win against
The Citadel, could be a
microcosm of the team’s
growth.
Elon had four players
score in double figures,
landed 11 of 22 3-point
attempts and committed
just seven turnovers. The
Phoenix also hit more
than half of its field goals,
shooting at a 28 of 54 clip.
The story of the game
was a feature that will
be missed next year, as
senior guard Chris Long
led the team with 21
points and dished out 10
assists. Before the start of
the tournament. Long was
named to the All-SoCon
second team by conference
media members.
“Any time you lose an
all-conference player, he
will be missed,” Matheny
said.
As for Long, he had no
regrets following his last
game in an Elon uniform.
“I’m not disappointed
in anything (about my
career),” Long said. “It has
been a good four years.”
He closed the season on
a roll, as he averaged more
than 21 points per game
in the four games before
the tournament started.
The Phoenix won three of
those four games.
But in the contest
against the Cougars, the
No. 1 seed from the South
Division, senior guard
Andrew Goudelock was
too much for Elon, as he
scored 25 points on 9-17
shooting. He stands as
the fourth leading scorer
in the country with 23.3
points per game.
“He is going to score,”
said junior guard Drew
Spradlin. “The goal is to
make it as difficult as
possible. We executed to
a certain extent, just not
well enough in the first
half.”
Facing a halftime deficit
of 43-22, the Phoenix won
the second half battle with
a 38-35 score.
“It got away from us a
little bit in the first half,
and I thought our kids
really fought in the second
half,” Matheny said.
Whether winning or
losing, fighting was a
constant theme of the past
season.
The team lost one game
by more than 20 points, to
then-No. 1 Duke University.
Last year, the team lost six
games by more than 20
points.
Elon finished the
season with the second
ranked scoring offense
in the conference, with
74.2 points per game.
The Phoenix also led
the conference with 285
cbREY GROOM 1 PhotograpFief
Junior guard Dr«w Spradlin scored 15 points against The Citadel while shooting 5 lor 9 from the field.
3-point shots made, which
stands for an average of
more than nine made
shots from behind the arc
per game.
Matheny said after the
loss to the Cougars, Long
and fellow senior forwards
Scott Grable and David
Meyer will be missed, but
reiterated that the team
has set a strong foundation
for growth.
“This program will
move forward, and
we feel like we have a
strong enough base that
somebody will step up in
(Long’s) role, other guys
will step up in other roles
and next year’s team will
be different, but the future
is very bright for this
program,” Matheny said.
Baseball goes 3-1 hosting Elon Invitational, faces Saint Joseph’s
Jack Rodenfels
Sports Editor
Pitching and hitting both came
alive last weekend, March 4-6 as the
Elon baseball team went 3-1 in the Elon
Invitational.
The Phoenix lost its first game of the
weekend March 4 9-4 to Wright State
University but rebounded to outscore
opponents 35-6 in the final three games
of the Elon Invitational.
“Our starting pitching was consistent
throughout the entire weekend,” said
head coach Mike Kennedy. “In all four
games, the pitchers went six innings
strong and gave the team a chance to
win.
One of the main differences between
Elon’s first game of the tournament and
the following three was relief pitching.
On Friday, Elon’s relief pitching
combined to allow seven earned runs,
with five of those surrendered by senior
Thomas Girdwood, who was named to
the 2011 Preseason Stopper of the Year
Watch List, honoring the top relief pitcher
in Division I baseball.
In the two games for the Phoenix Sat.
and Sun. the bullpen allowed only two
runs.
“We certainly didn’t have to panic
over our pitching after (Friday),” Kennedy
said. “We were able to get timely hitting
^J^sidertce
throughout the weekend, and
it allowed us to win by large
margins.”
While the Phoenix plated
39 runs in four games, no
player was more consistent
throughout the past week
than senior infielder Neal
Pritchard.
Reaching base safely in each
game, Pritchard batted .615
with two home runs and eight
RBI. Additionally, Pritchard
had four RBI in Saturday’s
game agciinst the West Virginia
University Mountciineers.
His play garnered Southern
Conference Player of the Week
honors for the first time in his
Elon career.
“We've had a lot of
confidence in our pitching staff this season,
and it rubs off on the hitting,” sophomore
outfielder Niko Fraser said. “As a hitter,
it's contagious and you are relaxed under
pressure and can better perform.”
The Phoenix hitting has been hot to
begin the year, as four regular starters are
averaging above a .300 batting average.
Looking
ahead:
Wednesday
4 p.m. vs.
St. Joseph s
University
Friday 3pm
at Appalachian
State University
Saturday 2pm
at App State
Sunday 1 p m at
App Stale
Four players have more than
10 hits in the team's first
12 games, with sophomore
catcher Alex Swim leading the
Phoenix with 18 hits.
“We need to continue to
be consistent while hitting,”
Kennedy said. “We’ve had
highs and lows, it’s all about
having a consistent approach
at the plate, and to get timely
hits.”
While the Phoenix is 8-4
on the season, the team needs
to get better at situational
hitting, Kennedy said.
“When we have runners on
second and third with less than
two outs, we have to get better at
bringing the runs in” Kennedy
said. “We have kids trying to do
too much with the bat, and they are coming
off of the ball and not hitting it squarely.”
The Phoenix hosts the Saint Joseph
University Hawks 4 p.m. today, March
9 and travels to Boone for a three-
game set against the Appalachian
State University Mountaineers starting
Friday, March 11.
STUDIO APARTMENTS
WITH EVERYTHING INCLUDED!
Only $550/Month
Call (336)516-4777 for an
Appointment!
MORE ONLINE: SPORTS
VIDEO:
Professional agility
trainer and coach, Eddie
Shore, has been training
local children on Elon’s
track for years.
http://bit.ly/TPOelontrack
CHRtSTiNF WILLIAMS ^ Inle't'