With the Phoenix’s 66-61 win against the Furman University Paladins last Saturday, Elon won its fourth game of the season, a mark the Phoenix did not attain until Dec. 30 last season.

It was not easy for the Phoenix [4-3 overall, 2-0 Southern Conference]. For the second consecutive game, the team’s offense struggled finding a rhythm, leading to a halftime deficit.

“I don’t know what it is, but we’re sluggish in the beginning,” senior point guard Montell Watson said. “We have to get away from that. We need to get a jump on them first half instead of digging ourselves a hole.”

Fortunately for the Phoenix, just like it did against Western Carolina University on Nov. 27, the team came out of halftime with renewed energy and focus. Leading the way for Elon was junior forward Ola Atoyebi, who scored 14 of his game high 18 points in the second half after struggling on both sides of the ball in the first half.

“I struggled a little bit on defense in the first half and it starts with the defensive end,” Atoyebi said. “I know I can hit my offensive shots, but I just have to start playing defense and with that my offense comes.”

Head coach Ernie Nestor explained after the game that he and the coaching staff members were pleased with the way Atoyebi fought through his first half struggles. He also said that he and the team have high expectations for Atoyebi.

“I thought Ola responded well to the challenge,” Nestor said. “Right now we’re holding him accountable for being a major inside presence on our team. He’s got fabulous hands and when you have hands you can catch the ball, and when you can catch the ball, you can do things with it.”

The Phoenix defense as a whole opened the second half by holding the winless Paladins [0-6] to just five points in the first seven minutes. Elon also converted 15 Furman turnovers into 18 points and shot almost 70 percent from the field after shooting 42 percent in the first half.

Tonight the team will look to improve its record against Tusculum College Pioneers at 7 in Alumni Gym. The Pioneers are a 2-4 Division-II school, but have two players averaging more than 17 points-per-game in senior forward Jordan Lear [18.5] and sophmore guard kyle Moore [17.3].

With the Pioneers averaging 71 points-per-game, the Phoenix cannot afford to fall into a large first half deficit like it has the past two games, and Nestor knows it.

“We have to get a lot of help from our team to play for longer periods of time,” Nestor said. “We can’t let ourselves get in trouble.”

According to reports, several key players for the Phoenix could be suspended for tonight’s game against Tusculum because of their actions at a party in Danieley on Saturday night after the team’s win. Nestor neither denied nor confirmed the reports, but said he would announce any team decisions prior to the game. Players also declined to comment on the situation.

Sports Editor: Jeff Rickel - 12/05/07