ELON, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball travels to Elon hoping to replicate the last meeting between the teams, an 81-66 at the Holmes Center in late January.
Since that meeting, the Mountaineers (9-13, 5-7 SoCon) have dropped two in a row, against Samford and College of Charleston. Nathan Healy led the Apps in scoring in both setbacks with a 13.0-point average. The junior also hauled in an average of 7.0 rebounds over the two-game stretch.
On Saturday against the Cougars, Appalachian grabbed 46 rebounds for a +12 margin, the largest of the season. Mike Neal dished out four assists in the game to bump his season total to 65. He is on pace to be the first freshman to lead ASU in assists for a season since Donald Sims recorded 80 in 2007-08.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX:
• Elon (12-10, 7-4 SoCon) picked up two hard-fought wins over the weekend, with a 99-98 double-overtime thriller against College of Charleston on Thursday and a 71-66 victory over The Citadel on Saturday.
• The Phoenix are a solid 8-3 at home on the season, including a 4-2 mark in league games.
• Jack Isenbarger scored 34 points in Saturday's win and leads the team with 13.3 per game, while Lucas Troutman adds 13.0.
• Elon ranks 11th in the league at just 40.8 percent from the field, but the team's 34.9 three-point percentage is third in the SoCon, behind only Georgia Southern and Appalachian.
• After ASU knocked it from the division lead a week ago, Elon is back in first with a half-game lead over UNCG.
SERIES HISTORY:
• Appalachian's 81-66 win against the Phoenix late last month was the seventh win in a row for the Mountaineers.
• It bumped ASU's all-time record in the series to 51-41 and its home mark to an impressive 36-8.
• The Mountaineers have won three in a row at Alumni Gym, but are just 12-28 on the road.
• In the last meeting, a stout 76 percent field goal mark in the second half helped ASU break open a tight contest.
• Led by Omar Carter's 9-of-13 day, Appalachian shot a healthy 54.5 percent for the game.
• Isaac Butts (3-5), Jamaal Trice (6-9) and Andre Williamson (4-6) also shot 60 percent or better on the day. Trice and Carter notched 20 points each and Carter tallied his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.
• In three games against the Phoenix, Carter averages 19.7 points and 9.3 rebounds, with a 64.3 shooting percentage.
• Williamson adds 7.4 points on 74.1 percent shooting along with 6.9 rebounds in seven games, while Butts posts similar numbers with 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and a 65.2 field goal clip.
