ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball returns to action on Monday, Jan. 17, for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup with James Madison. Tipoff in the contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Schar Center.
 
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 3:30 p.m. ET with the Carter and Smith Group Countdown to tipoff.
- Elon's game against James Madison will be streamed live on FloSports.
- Live Stats are available and can be found by visiting https://elonstats.com.
 
THE MATCHUP
- Monday afternoon marks the 18^th meeting between Elon and JMU.
- The Phoenix currently trails in the all-time series 9-8.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon battled back from a 15-point second half deficit to defeat top-seeded James Madison, 72-71, in the Quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament on March 7, 2021.
- Hunter McIntosh led the way for Elon, dropping 24 points to lead all scorers, while adding a career-high nine rebounds in 38 minutes. Hunter Woods and Darius Burford also combined for 16 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for the Phoenix.

SCOUTING ELON
- Former CAA All-Rookie honoree Darius Burford is currently leading the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.7 spg), while being third on the team in rebounding (4.1 rpg). Burford has scored in double figures 10 times this season and has nabbed at least two steals in eight games this year. His 16.8 ppg scoring averaging in conference play also ranks seventh in the CAA.
- Junior guard and Preseason All-CAA First Team honoree Hunter McIntosh, ranks second the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game, adding 2.9 assists per contest as well. McIntosh has scored in double figures in 44 career games, including 10 times this season. He currently ranks in the top-15 in the conference in scoring at 14.8 ppg through four CAA contests this year.
- Torrence Watson is third on the team in scoring 9.1 points per game, adding 2.8 rebounds per contest as well. Watson has gotten to the charity stripe a team-high 56 times this season, knocking down 47 of his attempts for an 83.9 free throw percentage.
- Junior forward Zac Ervin is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.5 points per game, adding 3.5 rebounds per contest. Ervin has knocked down 33 threes while shooting at a 37.9 percent clip from long distance so far this season.
- Junior forward Hunter Woods is chipping in 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 26.1 minutes through 16 games this season. Woods is also currently second on the team in steals this season with 23 total.
- Sophomore center Michael Graham ranks fifth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding at 6.0 rpg. Graham has scored at least 10 points in five straight games and has registered two double-doubles this season.
- Senior forward Chuck Hannah is averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21.9 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 (36.0 – 2nd), total threes made (159 – 2nd), threes made per game (9.4 – 2nd) and total assists (223 – 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 JAMES MADISON
- JMU enters the contest with an 11-3 overall record and 2-1 record in CAA play after defeating William & Mary, 95-91, in overtime in its most recent contest. Justin Amadi led the Dukes in the contest, dropping 24 points and 10 rebounds. Vado Morse added 22 points and four assists, while Charles Falden chipped in 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
- Mark Byington is in the midst of his second season at the helm of the JMU program. Byington spent seven seasons as the head coach at Georgia Southern prior to taking over the Dukes program.
- The Dukes are led by Vado Morse who leads the team in scoring at 13.1 ppg and assists at 2.4 rpg. JMU has also gotten contributions from Takal Molson (11.8 ppg and 4.7 rpg) and Charles Falden (11.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg) early on this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon fell to Towson, 59-54, on Saturday, Jan. 15, at Schar Center.
- Hunter McIntosh led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping 13 points, five assists and two rebounds in 36 minutes. The game marked the 10^th double-digit scoring outing of the season for McIntosh and the 44^th such game in his career.
- Chuck Hannah chipped in a season-high 10 points, adding four rebounds in 28 minutes. Hannah also matched a career-high with two made threes in the contest.
- Michael Graham finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks in his 27 minutes on the court. Graham has now scored at least 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in five consecutive games and nine times overall this season.
- Darius Burford paced Elon with eight rebounds, adding five points, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes. Tonight marked the eighth game this season Burford has finished with at least two steals, while his eight rebounds are his most in a game since grabbing 12 against Bluefield earlier this year.
- Hunter Woods and Zac Ervin combined for 12 points and six rebounds in the loss.
- The Phoenix held a 6-2 advantage in bench points and a 12-8 advantage in assists in the contest.
 
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
- The Phoenix returns to action on Jan. 17, when it hosts JMU at Schar Center at 4 p.m.
- Following that game, Elon hits the road for matchups with Drexel (Jan. 20) and Delaware (Jan. 22) respectively.
- The Phoenix will then head back to Schar Center for a Jan. 27 matchup with William & Mary.