ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 5, when it welcomes Charleston to Schar Center for a 4 p.m. matchup.
 
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 Charleston will be streamed live on FloSports.
- Live Stats are available and can be found by visiting https://elonstats.com.
 
THE MATCHUP
- Saturday afternoon marks the 36^th meeting between Elon and Charleston.
- The Phoenix currently trails the Cougars in the all-time series, 24-9.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon's late rally came up just short in a narrow, 65-61, loss to Charleston on Jan. 9, 2022, 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.
- Darius Burford finished with 16 points, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action, while Michael Graham added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in his 22 minutes on the court.

SCOUTING ELON
- Former CAA All-Rookie honoree Darius Burford is currently leading the team in scoring (13.2 ppg), assists (3.2 apg) and steals (1.8 spg), while being third on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg). Burford has scored in double figures 14 times this season and has nabbed at least two steals in 11 games this year. His 16.0 ppg scoring averaging in conference play also ranks sixth in the CAA.
- Junior guard and Preseason All-CAA First Team honoree Hunter McIntosh, ranks second the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, adding 3.0 assists per contest. McIntosh has scored in double figures in 48 career games, including 14 times this season. He currently ranks in the top-15 in the conference in scoring at 13.6 ppg through ten CAA contests this year. McIntosh enters the contest just 27 points shy of 1,000 career points (973).
- Sophomore center Michael Graham ranks third on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding at 7.4 rpg. Graham has scored at least 10 points in 10 of his last 11 games and has registered six double doubles this season. His 13.0 ppg scoring output in conference play ranks in the top-15 while his 9.0 rebounding average and 69.5 field goal percentage leads the CAA.
- Torrence Watson is fourth on the team in scoring 9.2 points per game, adding 3.0 rebounds per contest as well. Watson has gotten to the charity stripe a team-high 61 times this season, knocking down 52 of his attempts for an 85.2 free throw percentage.
- Junior forward Zac Ervin is fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game, adding 3.1 rebounds per contest. Ervin has knocked down 40 threes while shooting at a 36.0 percent clip from long distance so far this season.
- Junior forward Hunter Woods is chipping in 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.7 minutes through 22 games this season. Woods is also currently second on the team in steals this season with 25 total.
- Senior forward Chuck Hannah is averaging 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game.
- Freshman center Sam Sherry has gotten his Elon career off to a solid start, averaging 2.4 points in just under eight minutes of action per game.
- Elon currently ranks in the top-3 in the CAA in total threes made (211 – 1st), threes made per game (9.2 – 1st), field goal percentage defense (43.3 – 2nd) and total assists (306 – 3rd).
- 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 CHARLESTON
- Charleston enters the contest with a 12-9 overall record and a 4-5 record in CAA play after defeating William & Mary, 84-61, in its most recent contest. The Cougars featured a balanced attack, finishing the night with five players scoring at least 11 points in the win. Brenden Tucker led the way for Charleston, dropping 21 points in 22 minutes.
- Pat Kelsey is in the midst of his first season at the helm of the Charleston program. Kelsey spent nine years as the head coach at Winthrop prior to leading the Cougars program, compiling a 186-95 overall record.
- The Cougars are led by John Meeks who leads the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg, adding 4.8 rpg. Charleston has also gotten contributions from Reyne Smith (12.7 ppg and 2.6 rpg) and Brenden Tucker (11.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg) early on this season.

LAST TIME OUT
- Elon started February off with a bang, taking down the CAA-leading UNCW Seahawks, 78-65, in front of a lively Schar Center crowd on Thursday, Feb. 3. The win moved the Phoenix to 4-1 at home in CAA play and 7-3 overall on its home court this season. The victory also snapped UNCW's program record 12-game winning streak and was its first loss of conference play (9-1).
- Darius Burford led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping a career-high 27 points, adding five rebounds, four steals and three assists. The sophomore also set a new career-high with 13 field goals, shooting a staggering 13-of-17 from the floor in the win. Burford's four steals matched a career-high, is his second consecutive game with four takeaways and marked the 11^th game this season he's had at least two steals. The Bolingbrook, Ill. native has now scored at least 20 points in back-to-back contests and in four games this year.
- Hunter McIntosh ended the night with 17 points, four assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes of action. McIntosh took over for Elon down the stretch, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half, including 13 points in the final six minutes. The performance marked the 14^th double-digit scoring output for the junior this year and the 47^th in his career.
- Michael Graham continued his strong play, posting his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. Graham's performance marked his team-leading 14^th double-figure scoring output and was his tenth 10+ point game in his last 11 outings. Through ten CAA contests this season, Graham has upped his averages to 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
- Zac Ervin chipped in eight points and three rebounds in 24 minutes, while freshman Sam Sherry finished with six points and one rebounds in 12 minutes. Sherry's six points were his most since scoring a season-high nine points against Randolph earlier this season.
- The Phoenix held UNCW to just 34.5 percent (20-of-58) shooting from the floor and 30.0 percent (9-of-30) shooting from three. When holding opponents to less than 40.0 percent shooting from the field, Elon is now 6-1 this season and 3-0 in CAA play.
- Elon held advantages in points in the paint (44-16), bench points (16-6), points off turnovers (12-11) and total rebounds (34-26). 
- The Phoenix shot a season-best 59.6 percent (28-of-47) from the field, while attempting a season-low 10 three pointers.
 
THE FACES OF 2021-22
- Elon returned three starters in Chuck Hannah, 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, Hunter Woods 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 is back in action on Feb. 5 when it hosts Charleston at Schar Center.
- Elon follows that contest up with back-to-back road games against JMU (Feb. 10) and Towson (Feb. 12).
- The Phoenix will then have three home contests in five days as it takes on Hofstra (Feb. 15), Delaware (Feb. 17) and Drexel (Feb. 19 – Senior Day) respectively.