ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball continues its opening road trip of CAA play when it travels to Wilmington, N.C. for a 7 p.m. matchup with UNCW on Wednesday, Jan. 12.
 
COVERAGE
- Listen to the Elon Sports Network from Learfield's coverage on The Varsity Network app.
- Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET with the Carter and Smith Group Countdown to tipoff.
- Elon's game against UNCW will be streamed live on FloSports.
- Live Stats are available and can be found by visiting https://elonstats.com.
 
THE MATCHUP
- Wednesday night marks the 25^th meeting between Elon and UNCW.
- The Phoenix currently leads in the all-time series 13-11.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon defeated UNCW, 70-67, in Wilmington on Feb. 27, 2021. Kris Wooten secured the win for the Phoenix, knocking down a game-winning three pointer at the buzzer.
- Darius Burford led the way for the Phoenix, posting 23 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 37 minutes of action. Hunter McIntosh added 17 points and five rebounds, knocking down three triples along the way.

SCOUTING ELON
- Former CAA All-Rookie honoree Darius Burford is currently leading the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.8 spg), while being third on the team in rebounding (3.9 rpg). Burford has scored in double figures nine times this season and has nabbed at least two steals seven times this year. His 19.5 ppg scoring averaging in conference play also ranks fourth in the CAA.
- Junior guard and Preseason All-CAA First Team honoree Hunter McIntosh, ranks second the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game, adding 2.9 assists per contest as well. McIntosh has scored in double figures in 42 career games, including nine times this season. He currently ranks second in the conference in scoring at 21.0 ppg through two CAA contests this year.
- Torrence Watson is third on the team in scoring 10.1 points per game, adding 2.6 rebounds per contest as well. Watson has gotten to the charity stripe a team-high 52 times this season, knocking down 45 of his attempts for an 86.5 free throw percentage.
- Junior forward Zac Ervin is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.5 points per game, adding 3.9 rebounds per contest. Ervin has knocked down 32 threes while shooting at a 39.5 percent clip from long distance so far this season.
- Junior forward Hunter Woods is chipping in 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 25.1 minutes through 15 games this season. Woods is also currently second on the team in steals this season with 21 total.
- Sophomore center Michael Graham ranks fifth on the team in scoring (7.9 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding at 6.1 rpg. Graham has also registered two double-doubles this season.
- Senior forward Chuck Hannah is averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game since returning from injury against High Point.
- Freshman center Sam Sherry has gotten his Elon career off to a solid start, averaging 2.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in just under eight minutes of action per game.
- Elon currently ranks in the top-2 in the CAA in three-point field goal percentage (36.6 – 1st), total threes made (145 – 2nd), threes made per game (9.7 – 2nd) and total assists (202 – 2nd).
- The Phoenix moved to 4-2 at Schar Center and 1-0 in CAA play this season with a win over Northeastern. The game marked the first time since the 2017-18 season that the Phoenix opened conference play with a win.
- Elon set a program record for points at Schar Center (107), threes made (20) and assists (27) in its home opener against Randolph.
- Seniors Chuck Hannah and Kris Wooten will serve as the team captains for the 2021-22 season.
- This season marks the third for Head Coach Mike Schrage at the helm of the Elon program.
 
SCOUTING UNCW
- UNCW enters the contest with a 7-5 overall record and 1-0 record in CAA play after defeating Delaware, 70-68, in its most recent contest. Jaylen Sims led the Seahawks in the contest, dropping 17 points and five rebounds. Shykeim Phillips added 17 points and three assists, while Mike Okauru chipped in 15 points and two rebounds.
- Takayo Siddle is in the midst of his second season at the helm of the UNCW program. Siddle spent three years as an assistant coach at N.C. State prior to leading the Seahawks program.
- The Seahawls are led by Jaylen Sims who leads the team in scoring at 12.7 ppg and rebounding at 6.3 rpg. UNCW has also gotten contributions from Mike Okauru (11.8 ppg and 3.3 rpg) and Shykeim Phillips (9.7 ppg and 3.5 rpg) early on this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon's late rally came up just short in a narrow, 65-61, loss to Charleston on Sunday, Jan. 9, at TD Arena.
- Hunter McIntosh led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping a season-high 22 points, including 16 in the first half, adding four rebounds and three steals in a team-high 38 minutes. McIntosh drained five threes in the contest ending his night 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. The effort marked the second straight 20-point outing for the junior and was his ninth double-figure scoring output this season.
- Darius Burford finished with 16 points, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action. The sophomore has now registered at least 10 points and two steals in three consecutive games and six times overall this season.
- Michael Graham added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in his 22 minutes on the court. The outing was the third straight double-digit scoring effort by the sophomore and his seventh overall this year.  
- Elon scored 24 points in the paint and 17 points off turnovers.
- The Phoenix allowed season-lows in three-point percentage in a game (19.0) and three-point percentage in a half (0.0).
 
THE FACES OF 2021-22
- Elon returns four starters in Chuck Hannah, Hunter Woods, All-CAA Second Team honoree Hunter McIntosh and CAA All-Rookie selection Darius Burford.
- Other returnees for the Phoenix includes seniors Jerald Gillens-Butler, Kris Wooten and Charlie Mendys, juniors Ben Daugherty and Zac Ervin, and sophomores Michael Graham and JaDun Michael.
-Additionally, the maroon and gold welcomes five newcomers to the squad in Mizzou transfer Torrence Watson, Mississippi State transfer Andrew Junkin and freshmen RJ Noord, Sam Sherry and Reece Clark.
 
CAA PRESEASON POLL
- The Colonial Athletic Association announced its preseason poll on Thursday, Oct. 28, with Elon tabbed to finish sixth.
- The Phoenix had two student-athletes earn preseason all-conference honors in Hunter McIntosh (1st Team) and Jerald Gillens-Butler (Honorable Mention).
- Elon earned a total of 202 points in the poll, including one first-place vote.
- Delaware was chosen as the preseason favorite with 296 points and 19 first-place votes, followed by Northeastern with 246 points and seven first-place votes. Drexel (234 points; five first-place votes), James Madison (224 points, three first-place votes) and Hofstra (211 points; one first-place vote) rounded out the top five.
 
COMING SOON
- Elon rounds out its opening road trip of conference play when it faces UNCW on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m.
- The Phoenix returns home on Jan. 15, when it hosts Towson at Schar Center at 4 p.m. Elon will then welcome JMU to Schar Center for a 4 p.m. matchup with the Dukes on Jan. 17.
- Following two home games, Elon hits the road again for matchups with Drexel (Jan. 20) and Delaware (Jan. 22) respectively.