ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team begins a two-game homestand this Saturday, Dec. 3, as the Phoenix hosts UNCG in an afternoon tilt at 4 p.m. inside Schar Center.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Saturday's game will be streamed live on FloHoops.
• 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 3:30 p.m. with analyst Chase Williams.
• 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.
 
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.
 
GAME PROMOTIONS
• Free t-shirts will be given out at the game to the first 200 Elon University students. There will also be a walking taco bar during the game for fans.
• At halftime, fans will be entertained by professional Simon Sez (Simon Says) caller Steve Max. Max is nationally for his appearances on TV and at NBA and NCAA basketball halftimes.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Piedmont Triad rivals and former conference foes Elon and UNCG will meet for the 44^th time in a series that dates to 1971-72. The Phoenix leads the all-time series against the Spartans, 26-17.
• UNCG has won the previous four contests against the maroon and gold including last year's 71-64 victory in Greensboro.
• Elon's last win in the series came during the 2015-16 season. The Phoenix defeated the Spartans by a score of 79-69 at Alumni Gym. Christian Hairston paced the Phoenix with a game-high 17 points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting, while Tyler Seibring and Steven Santa Ana each added 13 points. Luke Eddy scored eight points and dished out a game-high nine assists.
• Elon head coach Billy Taylor coached one exhibition game against UNCG when he was the head coach at Belmont Abbey during the 2016-17 season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix had a pair of breakout performances from freshman Max Mackinnon and sophomore Sam Sherry, but it was not enough as the maroon and gold had an 84-70 setback at High Point on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
• Mackinnon had his first career double-double after scoring a game and season-high 24 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. The Brisbane, Australia, native shot 9-of-17 from the field while also dishing out three assists.
• Sherry added his second straight double-digit scoring effort as the Mechanicsburg, Pa., native set a new career-high with 19 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds including six on the offensive end.
• Sean Halloran had 13 points and a season-high seven assists for the Phoenix. The Orlando, Fla., native also had a couple of steals, his fifth multi-steal game.
• Elon won the battle on the glass, 42-37, over the Panthers. It was the first game that the Phoenix had a positive rebounding margin over its opponent since outrebounding Erskine 49-32 in its season opener.
• With the loss, the Phoenix fell to 81-96 all-time to its fellow Triad rival with High Point taking three of the past four games.
 
LAUNCHING THE BILLY TAYLOR ERA
• 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.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Halloran continues to be the Phoenix's leading scorer at 12.5 points per game after his third straight double-digit scoring game against High Point. The graduate student is also the team's top playmaker with 36 assists (4.5 apg), good for third in the CAA. He is also third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.4.
• Halloran has scored (100) or assisted (36) on nearly 26 percent of Elon's total points this season (136 of 533).
• Sherry made his fourth straight start on the season against High Point and posted his second straight double-digit scoring output against the Panthers. His six offensive rebounds were the most for the Phoenix this season and the most since Simon Wright also pulled down six offensive boards versus Towson in 2020.
• Mackinnon became the first player to have a double-double for the Phoenix this season and the first since Michael Graham had one against Northeastern on Feb. 26. He also became the first freshman with a double-double since Hunter Woods had a 20-point, 15-rebound contest against William & Mary in 2020 at the CAA Tournament.
• Torrence Watson is the Phoenix's second-leading scorer at 11.1 points per game and the team's leading rebounder at 5.3 boards per contest.  
 
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.
 
SCOUTING UNCG
• The Spartans (3-5) are coming off a 73-56 setback versus crosstown rival North Carolina A&T on Wednesday. The loss was the third straight for UNCG, who is in the midst of a six-game road swing.
• UNCG went 17-15 overall last season and 9-9 overall in the Southern Conference. This year, the Spartans were tabbed to finish third in the 2022 SoCon Preseason Poll.
• As a team, UNCG is averaging 66.4 points per game on 40 percent shooting and just over 30 percent from three. Three players are scoring in double figures for the Spartans led by Keondre Kennedy's 15.4 points per game. The grad student is also pulling down a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game and is shooting nearly 90 percent from the free throw line (29-of-33).
• Senior Keyshaun Langley is the Spartans' second-leading scorer at 11.1 ppg while hitting a team-best 18 treys this season. Junior Mikeal Brown-Jones is third on the team in 10.0 points per game despite not starting a game this season.
• Head coach Mike Jones is in his second season at the helm of the UNCG men's basketball program. Jones led the Spartans to a postseason appearance in the Roman College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will have over a week off hiatus for final exams before returning to the court to host Johnson & Wales (N.C.) on Sunday, Dec. 11. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.