ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball opens the 2022 Jersey Mike's Subs CAA Championship on Sunday, March 6, when it travels to Washington, D.C. for a 6 p.m. matchup with second-seeded UNCW.
 
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 5:30 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.
- All-session tickets for the CAA Men's Basketball Championship are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Elon Ticket Office at (336) 278-6750. Single-session tickets are also available and can be purchased by clicking here.
 
THE MATCHUP
- Sunday evening marks the 28^th meeting between Elon and UNCW.
- The Phoenix currently leads the Seahawks in the all-time series, 14-13.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon started February off with a bang, taking down the then CAA-leading UNCW Seahawks, 78-65, in front of a lively Schar Center crowd on Thursday, Feb. 3. The victory snapped UNCW's program record 12-game winning streak and was its first loss of conference play.
- 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.
- 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.
- Michael Graham continued his strong play, posting his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
- 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.

SCOUTING ELON
- Junior guard and All-CAA Third Team honoree Hunter McIntosh is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, adding 2.8 assists per contest. McIntosh has scored in double figures in 54 career games, including 20 times this season. He currently ranks in the sixth in the conference in scoring at 15.1 ppg through 18 CAA contests this year. In Elon's all-time program history, McIntosh currently sits 7^th in threes made (217) and 35^th in scoring (1,105 points).
- All-CAA Third Team honoree Darius Burford is currently leading the team in scoring (13.7 ppg), assists (3.0 apg) and steals (1.5 spg). Burford also ranks third on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg). The sophomore has scored in double figures 20 times and has nabbed at least two steals in 12 games this season. His 15.7 ppg scoring average in conference play also ranks fifth in the CAA.
- Sophomore center Michael Graham ranks third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding at 6.9 rpg. Graham has registered seven double doubles and scored at least 10 points in 16 games this season. His 7.4 rebounding average ranks fourth in the CAA during conference play.
- 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 61 times this season, knocking down 52 of his attempts for a team-high 85.2 free throw percentage.
- Junior forward Zac Ervin is fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.1 points per game, adding 3.0 rebounds per contest. Ervin has knocked down 48 threes while shooting at a 34.8 percent clip from long distance so far this season.
- Junior forward Hunter Woods is chipping in 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.0 minutes through 30 games this season. Woods is also currently second on the team in steals this season with 30 total.
- Senior forward Chuck Hannah is averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game.
- Freshman center Sam Sherry has gotten his Elon career off to a solid start, averaging 2.5 points in just under eight minutes of action per game.
- 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 21-8 overall record and a 15-3 mark in CAA play after defeating Delaware, 69-62, in its most recent contest.
- The Seahawks earned the second seed in the CAA Tournament after finishing the regular season tied with Towson as CAA co-champions.
- 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 Seahawks are led by Jaylen Sims who leads the team in scoring at 15.8 ppg and rebounding at 5.6 rpg. UNCW has also gotten contributions from Mike Okauru (12.8 ppg and 3.9 rpg) and Shykeim Phillips (11.3 ppg and 3.7 rpg) so far this season.


LAST TIME OUT
- Elon University men's basketball led wire-to-wire to secure its second straight win on Saturday, Feb. 26, defeating Northeastern, 67-54, at Matthews Arena in Boston, Mass. With the win, the Phoenix completed its first road sweep of the season after defeating Hofstra, 81-55, on Thursday, Feb. 24.
- Hunter McIntosh led the charge for the Phoenix, knocking down five threes in route to a 21-point performance for the junior. It was the fifth 20+ point performance for McIntosh this season and marked the 54^th game in his Elon career in which he's posted at least 10 points. His five triples on the afternoon also marked the sixth game this season he's hit at least five threes.
- Darius Burford added 15 points, three assists and two rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Burford has now scored at least 15 points in four consecutive games and in 14 contests overall this season.
- Michael Graham added 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, blocking two shots along the way. The performance was the 16^th career double-digit scoring outing for Graham and marked his seventh double-double of the season.
- Hunter Woods chipped in eight points, two rebounds and two dimes, while Kris Wooten finished with seven points and three boards.
- Elon held an edge in points in the paint (28-22), points off turnovers (13-6) and bench points (18-5).
- The Phoenix defensed allowed a season-low 24.1 percent shooting mark in the first half.
 
CAA POSTSEASON AWARDS
- Elon junior guard Hunter McIntosh was named the Colonial Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and to the All-Conference third team, while sophomore guard Darius Burford also earned All-CAA third team honors, the league office announced on Friday, March 4.
- McIntosh was selected as the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year after graduating with his degree in finance after just two-and-a-half years at Elon. The junior has been named to the CAA Commissioner's Honor Roll, AD Honor Roll and President's List in each of his five semesters on campus and graduated Summa Cum Laude this past December. The two-time Phillips-Perry Black Excellence Award recipient is currently pursuing his master's degree in business analytics. With the honor, McIntosh becomes just the second player in Elon history to win CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Tyler Sebring '19, who won the award twice (2017, 2019).
 - Following a stellar third season on the court for the Phoenix, McIntosh earned all-conference honors for the third time in his career after being named to the All-CAA second team last season and being named the conference's Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2019. McIntosh rounded out the year second on the team in scoring at 13.3 ppg, also ranking 10^th overall in the CAA. The junior out of Snellville, Ga. also ranked in the top three in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (37.8% - 2^nd) and three-point field goals made per game (2.7 – 3^rd). McIntosh started in all 31 of Elon's games this season, scoring in double figures 20 times. Against James Madison on Feb. 10, McIntosh scored his 1,000^th career point, becoming just the 46^th player in program history to accomplish the feat. He is one of just seven active players in the CAA to score at least 1,000 points in their career.
 - In just his second season at Elon, Burford garnered All-CAA third team honors after being named to the All-Rookie team last season. Burford rounded out the year leading the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game (fifth in CAA), while finishing second in the conference in field goal percentage (46.3%). The sophomore out of Bolingbrook, Ill., scored in double-figures a team-best 20 times, including a team-leading seven 20+ point performances. Against Drexel on Feb. 19, Burford dropped a career-high 31 points, adding eight rebounds in the contest. Burford was the lone Phoenix to earn a Player of the Week honor this year, as the sophomore picked up the distinction following a 23-point outing to lead Elon to a win in its conference opener against Northeastern on Dec. 29.
- Other award winners included Aaron Estrada (Hofstra – Player of the Year), Jyare Davis (Delaware – Rookie of the Year), Amari Williams (Drexel – Defensive Player of the Year), Zach Cooks (Hofstra – Six Man of the Year), Matey Juric (Drexel – Dean Ehlers Leadership Award) and Takayo Siddle (UNCW – Coach of the Year).
- A full list of this year's all-conference honorees can be found by visiting caasports.com.
 
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.

 
COMING SOON
- The Phoenix will then prepare for the upcoming CAA Tournament, set to begin on March 5. With Elon clinching the seventh seed, it will play its first contest of the tournament on March 6 against UNCW.