ELON – The Elon men’s basketball team returns to the Schar Center for the first time in two weeks to host Mercer on Saturday afternoon.Tipoff between the Phoenix (4-2) and the Bears is at 4 p.m.ET and the nonconference contest will be streamed via FloCollege.
GAME INFORMATION
INSIDE THE MATCHUP – ELON vs. MERCER
* Series record: Mercer leads, 2-0
* Elon and Mercer (4-2) will meet for the first time in 25 years. Their last matchup came on Dec. 17, 2003, in Macon, an 80-63 Bears win, following Mercer’s 79-67 victory in the 2002-03 season opener in Elon.
* The Phoenix and Bears were supposed to play on Dec. 3,2020,but the game was canceled due to disruptions from COVID-19.
* Both teams defeated appalachian State in their most recent games played. Elon blasted the Mountaineers 88-53 in Boone on Monday,while Mercer rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat App State 75-67 in Macon,Georgia,on Wednesday.
STARTING FIVE
1.Second Serving Of SoCon
Mercer marks the second of four Southern Conference opponents on Elon’s schedule this season. The Phoenix opened the stretch with a 92-90 overtime win at UNCG on Nov. 8 and will follow the Mercer matchup with back-to-back dates against Furman (Dec. 3) at home and wofford (Dec. 6) in Spartanburg, South Carolina.Elon was a member of the SoCon for 11 seasons (2003-14),but mercer is the only one of the four SoCon opponents on this year’s slate that the Phoenix did not face during its time in the league,as the Bears did not join the conference until 2014-15.
2. Cooking With Cuthrell
Graduate forward and first-year Phoenix Chandler Cuthrell has been an imposing offensive force, ranking second in the CAA and 11th nationally with 22.7 points per game through six outings. He earned CAA Player of the week honors on Nov. 17 after posting back-to-back career highs of 28 and 29 points against Marshall (Nov. 12) and Gardner-Webb (Nov. 15). After being limited to 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting at Miami last Thursday, Cuthrell bounced back with a dominant 23-point, 11-rebound double-double in Monday’s 88-53 road win at Appalachian State.
Cuthrell is the only player in the CAA with two 20-point, 10-rebound performances this season, having also reached those marks in the overtime win at UNCG on nov. 8. He also ranks among the league leaders in free throws made.