ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team continues its five-game road trip with a visit to the state of Indiana to face Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC).
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Sunday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• Listen to the Elon Sports Network from Learfield on The Varsity Network app.
• Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with the pregame show beginning at 1:30 p.m.
• Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the Elon men's basketball schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter by following @ElonMBasketball.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Sunday will be the first meeting on the basketball hardwood between Elon and Valparaiso.
• Valparaiso will be just the fourth current Missouri Valley Conference team to face the Phoenix. Elon has an all-time ledger of 2-2 versus members of the Missouri Valley with wins over Indiana State (1-1) and Illinois-Chicago (1-0). The Phoenix also played Evansville (0-1) back during the 2000-01 season.
• Elon head coach Billy Taylor is 1-2 all-time in his head coaching career against Valparaiso with his lone victory coming in 2009, 88-78, as the head coach at Ball State.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon saw three players score in double figures, but could not hold off a second-half rally from Presbyterian as the Phoenix fell to the Blue Hose, 69-63, to begin its road swing.
• Sean Halloran led the Phoenix with 15 points, his sixth straight double-digit scoring performance and eighth overall on the season.
• Sam Sherry had 14 points for his fourth double-figure scoring contest in the past five games while Zac Ervin added 11 points off the bench.
• The Phoenix led by as much as 13 points in the first period while holding the Blue Hose to only 29.6 percent shooting in the opening half – the lowest first-half percentage for an opponent all season. Presbyterian however shot 54.5 percent in the second period while outscoring the Phoenix 41-28.
• Ervin's 11 points off the pine helped the Phoenix overtake the Blue Hose in bench points, 21-19.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• The Phoenix is averaging 68.9 points per game and is second in the Colonial Athletic Association in fastbreak points per game at 11.82. Elon is also second in the CAA in assists per game at 13.4.
• Halloran leads the Phoenix in scoring at 13.4 points per game and in assists at 5.0 per game. The graduate student has scored (147) or assisted (55) in nearly 27 percent of Elon's points this season (202 of 758).
• Halloran tied his career high with four steals versus Presbyterian, the third time that the guard has had four steals in a game this season. The Orlando, Fla., native leads the CAA in steals at 2.1 per game, which is 38^th overall in the country.
• Since being promoted to the starting lineup seven games ago, Sherry has shown to be worthy of playing with the first five. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native is averaging 12.7 points and knocking down 60 percent of his shots during that stretch. The sophomore has upped that average to 15.8 ppg over the past five contests including a career-high 24 against Johnson & Wales (N.C.).
• Ervin ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game. The Gate City, Va., native has greatly improved as a playmaker with 21 assists so far this season compared to a combined 35 from his first two seasons.
• Max Mackinnon is third on the team in scoring (10.2 points per game) while pulling down a team-best 4.9 rebounds per contest. The Brisbane, Australia, native nearly had a double-double versus Presbyterian with eight points and a season-high six assists.
• 53 percent of Elon's points scored this year has come from members who did not appear in a game for the Phoenix last season.
 
SCOUTING VALPARAISO
• Valparaiso enters the matchup on Sunday with a 4-7 overall record including a 3-1 ledger on its home floor so far this season. The Beacons have been idle since a 98-61 setback at Ole Miss on Dec. 10. Prior to that game, Valpo earned a 96-60 victory over Trinity Christian on Dec. 6.
• Valpo is coming off a 14-18 campaign last season and finished with a 6-12 mark in conference play. The Beacons were tabbed ninth out of 12^th teams in the Missouri Valley Conference's Preseason poll.
• The Beacons are averaging 69.5 points per game with three players scoring in double figures. Senior forward Ben Krikke leads the team with his 20.1 ppg scoring average and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
• Kobe King is second on the squad at 17.3 points per game and second in total assists with 21. Quinto Green rounds out the double-digit scorers for Valparaiso at his 10.5 points per game while being the team's three-point marksmen with his team-best 23 treys.
• Head coach Matt Lottich is in his seventh season as the head coach of the men's basketball program in 2022-2023. He has posted an overall record of 101-103
 
TICKETS ON SALE
• Season tickets are now on sale for $170 for men's basketball.
• Single-game tickets are now on sale! Single-game tickets begin at $15 for men's basketball.
• Fans are able to purchase a book of 10 ticket vouchers for $75. These vouchers are redeemable for a ticket to any Elon men's or women's basketball regular season home game. Use all 10 for any one game, or use one voucher for 10 different games. Fans will also receive an Elon mini autographed basketball from the head coaches. These tickets represent a 50 percent savings for men's basketball tickets and a 25 percent savings for women's basketball vs. single-game prices.
• Ticket vouchers must be redeemed for a reserved seat ticket prior to entry. This can be done at the Schar Center Box Office during regular business hours (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
 
LAUNCHING THE BILLY TAYLOR ERA
• Billy Taylor was named the 19^th head coach of the Phoenix on April 15, 2022. Taylor arrived to the Phoenix after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa.
• Prior to working with the Hawkeyes, Taylor spent five years as head coach at Lehigh University followed by six seasons as the head coach at Ball State University and three at Belmont Abbey College.
• In his time at Iowa, the Hawkeyes ranked as one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking fifth nationally in scoring average in both 2021 (83.7) and 2022 (83.2). The program also led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio in both seasons.
• Taylor was a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year (2003, 2004) and led Lehigh to both the regular season and tournament titles in 2004, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament that season. He also guided Ball State to the 2009 MAC West Division crown.
 
OPENING TIP
• Elon welcomes back seven letterwinners from last year's team including five upperclassmen. Among the notable returners for the maroon and gold includes graduate student Torrence Watson and senior Zac Ervin. Both players are the leading returning scorers for Elon at 9.2 and 7.1 points per game, respectively.
• The Phoenix also welcomes back redshirt Jerald Gillens-Butler, who hopes to return to form after being named an All-Colonial Athletic Association honorable mention prior to last year. The Orlando, Fla., native appeared in only 10 games last year after missing most of the prior season due to an injury.
• A pair of graduate transfers will look to make an immediate impact for the Phoenix this season. Sean Halloran arrives to the Phoenix after an outstanding four-year career at Belmont Abbey. The Orlando, Fla., native finished as the all-time career assist leader with the Crusaders while helping the program to back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships and three straight NCAA tournament appearances. He rounded out his career averaging 14.4 points per game as a senior and concluded his career with 1,422 points.
• Another graduate transfer, John Bowen III, brings size to the Phoenix front line at 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds. The Bladenboro, N.C., native last played at UNCW in 2019-20 and appeared in 28 out of 32 games. Prior to UNCW, Bowen III was a teammate of Halloran's at Belmont Abbey and averaged 8.9 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per contest in 2018-19 while starting 27 of 28 games.
• A pair of freshmen will also look to make an impact for the maroon and gold in 2022-23. Max Mackinnon is a 6-foot-5 swingman from Brisbane, Australia, where he won back-to-back gold medals with the U20 Australian National Team. He was also named an All-Star 5 at the Australian National Championship.
• Another freshman, LA Pratt, is a 6-foot-5 guard from Columbus, Ohio, who was a three-time All-4A Team member and three-time conference champion at Lincoln Park High School. He scored over 1,000 points in high school and helped guide the program to two WPIAL Championship appearances and two State Semifinal appearances.
 
UP NEXT
Elon continues its road trek to the southern part of the state of Indiana, making the visit to Bloomington for a matchup with the Hoosiers on Tuesday, Dec. 20 for its final nonconference matchup. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will air on the Big Ten Network.