Inside the Numbers: Charleston at Elon

Charleston forward Ante Brzovic recorded an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double in the Cougars' win at Elon Saturday.  (Photo:  Charleston Basketball)

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ELON, N.C. – Elon coach Billy Taylor described Saturday’s contest against Charleston as “our first real stinker” after the game. There were many areas to which one could point in making this diagnosis.

We’ll expand a bit on that diagnosis now, and we’ll do so…Inside the Numbers!

• The easiest issue to diagnose comes on the boards. Charleston compiled an absolutely dizzying 19 offensive boards and 27 second-chance points, which led to the Cougars answering every attempt at a Phoenix run. Charleston also tallied 48 points in the paint, which neutralized the Phoenix duo of Sam Sherry and Matthew Van Komen.

“We got beat on the boards badly,” Taylor said. “We didn’t take care of the basketball and you can’t do that against good teams in this league.”

“I just think we weren’t in the correct positions,” Sherry added. “I could have been better on the boards, obviously.”

Charleston’s sports information department also noted that Elon was sixth in the nation in rebounds per game coming into the contest, only for the Cougars to outrebound the Phoenix by seven.

• More to Taylor’s point, turnovers also helped tell the tale. Charleston committed just six miscues on the night, while Elon more than doubled that number in finishing with 13. The Cougars converted those 13 turnovers into 22 points, while Elon capitalized with just eight points in that category. The Phoenix finished upside down in the assist-to-turnover numbers, helping on just eight of 23 baskets.
  
  
• Elon also struggled in transition, scoring just one point on the break. Charleston, conversely, notched 10 fast-break points, helping to further illustrate the chasm between the sides.
  
  
• As much as Elon struggled in the second half, the tide really turned at about the 6:16 mark of the first half. Nick Dorn sank a triple to give Elon a 24-22 lead. The Phoenix would make just two more buckets in that final six-plus minutes, though, with both coming from TK Simpkins. The Cougars closed on a 13-5 run, with nine points coming consecutively to flip a one-point Elon lead into an eight-point Charleston advantage. Though Elon trailed by just six at the interval, the Phoenix would never again be within two possessions.

“We just did not play well tonight,” Taylor said. “We didn’t play particularly well against Monmouth. We talked about that and we knew that. I was hoping that we would come out and play with a sense of urgency and some excitement, but we just weren’t able to execute the gameplan the way that we needed to at a high enough level against a really good team.”

• Elon had an inexplicable second half. The Phoenix were 10-for-15 from two-point range in the period – and 40.7 percent overall – but just 1-for-12 from three in the stanza. Charleston did not fare much better, hitting just 1-of-8 from deep in the second 20. Charleston was 16-of-20 from inside the arc in the period, making it virtually impossible for Elon to catch up once they went through the icy stretch to end the first.

Taylor summed up the night and the mood as the Phoenix prepare for a visit from Hofstra Thursday night.

“This is really the first real stinker that we’ve had,” Taylor said. “We're a good basketball team. We've shown that over the course of the 20 games. We're not going to let one game define our season. We've got two more home games next weekend. It's our job to take care of our home floor and to come back and compete and be physically and mentally ready to go. Our guys will be ready.”

CHARLESTON 76, ELON 62

CHARLESTON (16-5, 6-2 CAA)

Brzovic 9-14 0-0 18, Djokovic 4-11 5-11 13, Smith 9-20 1-2 20, Boyd 4-11 0-1 10, Fulton 1-3 2-2 5, Stonkus 1-3 0-0 2, Curcic 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 4-4 0-0 8. Totals 32-67 8-16 76.

ELON (14-7, 4-3)

Sherry 7-14 0-0 15, Van Komen 2-3 0-0 4, Dorn 3-13 6-7 15, TK Simpkins 7-12 5-7 20, King 1-2 0-0 2, TJ Simpkins 0-7 0-0 0, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Crump 3-4 0-1 6, Harrell 0-0 0-0 0 . Totals 23-55 11-15 62.

Halftime:  Charleston 35-29. 3-Point goals:  Elon 5-18 (Sherry 1-4, Dorn 3-12, TK Simpkins 1-1, Crump 0-1), Charleston 4-21 (Brzovic 0-2, Djokovic 0-2, Smith 1-6, Boyd 2-6, Fulton 1-3, Stonkus 0-1, Curcic 0-1). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Charleston 40 (Brzovic 12), Elon 33 (Sherry 7). Total fouls:  Charleston 13, Elon 12. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Charleston 22, Elon 8.  Points in the paint:  Charleston 48, Elon 34. Second-chance points:  Charleston 27, Elon 13.  Fast-break points:  Charleston 10, Elon 1.  Bench points:  Charleston 10, Elon 6.