ELON, N.C. – After being idle for a week, the Elon University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood to host fellow Piedmont Triad rival and Colonial Athletic Association newcomer North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The Phoenix and the Aggies are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. at Schar Center.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Wednesday's game will be streamed live on FloHoops via a paid subscription.
• Listen to the game on 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 6:30 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
• Elon and North Carolina A&T will meet for the fourth time during the Phoenix's Division I era on Wednesday with the maroon and gold holding a slight 2-1 advantage over the Aggies. Both victories have come on Elon's home floor.
• The last matchup between the I-40 rivals came during the 2001-02 season in which Elon came away with a 94-82 victory in overtime. Brendon Rowell pumped in 23 points and Gary Marsh contributed with 14. Ross Sims added 13 points and six assists while Chris Adams had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
• North Carolina A&T will be the third Piedmont Triad team that the Phoenix will face so far on its schedule. Elon also met with High Point (Nov. 30) and UNCG (Dec. 3).
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix hosted UNCW in its CAA home-opener last Wednesday, Jan. 4, but could not hold off the Seahawks from winning its 12^th straight victory as Elon fell 81-66 at Schar Center.
• Zac Ervin led the Phoenix in scoring for the second straight game as the senior posted 16 total points on 6-of-11 shooting while going 2-of-4 from three-point range.
• Torrence Watson added 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds off the bench while Sean Halloran contributed with 13 points for Elon (2-14, 0-3 CAA).
• Elon shot 24-of-48 in the game, shooting at least 50 percent for the second time this season. The Phoenix shot a blistering 52 percent in the second half alone against the Seahawks.
• Watson had his best outing since scoring 20 points at NC State on Nov. 19. The St. Louis native was also one rebound shy of tying his career best.
• Thanks to Watson, Elon outscored UNCW's reserves 22-18. The Seahawks dominated on the boards in the game, 40-25, including grabbing 16 on the offensive end.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Halloran leads the Phoenix in scoring at 13.3 points per game after notching his 11^th straight double-digit scoring outing against the Seahawks last Wednesday. The Orlando, Fla., native has dished out 69 assists on the year, good for third overall in the CAA. His 4.3 assist average is the highest for the program since Luke Eddy averaged 4.5 assists per game during the 2015-16 season.
• Halloran leads the CAA in total steals (38) and is second in the league in steals per game (2.4). That average would be the best single-season performance in school history at the Division I era, besting Scottie Rice's 2.0 SPG average in 2002-03. The graduate student has 19 steals in his past six games and is currently 13^th in the country in total steals.
• Halloran has also been close to automatic at the charity stripe this season with his 93.2 free throw percentage (41-of-44). That percentage leads the CAA and is seventh overall in the country.
• Ervin has come on strong during CAA play, tying Halloran for the team-lead in points per game in league games at 13.3. The Gate City, Va., native is shooting 55.6 percent from the field in the Phoenix's three CAA games including a 42.9 percent clip from downtown. On the season, Ervin is averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game, also second behind Halloran.
• The two graduate transfers, Halloran and John Bowen III, have played a major role for the Phoenix this season. Bowen III is averaging 20.0 minutes per game in his last eight games and scored five points with three rebounds and a blocked shot against UNCW.
• After missing the nonconference portion of the schedule this season due to injury, Jerald Gillens-Butler has eased back into the playing rotation during the start of league play. The Orlando, Fla., native and a preseason All-CAA honorable mention a year ago, played a season-high 24 minutes against UNCW, scoring three points with a pair of rebounds.
• Even with the return of Gillens-Butler and Watson, the Phoenix played UNCW with only eight scholarship players available. Max Mackinnon missed his first game of the year while RJ Noord Jr. sat out his second straight contest. The Phoenix was also without the services of Andrew Junkin and Deandre Smart, who both have been out with injuries for most of the season.
• After losing 73 percent of its scoring from last year's team, 54 percent of Elon's points scored this year has come from members who did not appear in a game for the Phoenix last season (575 of 1,064).
 
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T
• The Aggies (6-11, 1-3 CAA) have fallen in their past two games including a 66-61 result versus UNCW on its home floor last Saturday. North Carolina A&T's last win came against Hofstra, 81-79, on a buzzer-beater from Tyrese Elliott on Dec. 31.
• North Carolina A&T is averaging 71.5 points per game, which is fourth in the league, while shooting just under 43 percent from the floor. The Aggies are third overall in the CAA in three-point percentage (.351) and second overall in opponent three-point percentage (.317).
• Offensively, the Aggies have three players scoring in double digits in Kam Woods (18.6 ppg), Marcus Watson (12.5) and Demetric Horton (12.4). Woods' average is third in the CAA as the sophomore guard is also the league leader in three-point field goals made with 52. Horton is second behind Woods with 41 made treys while his 45.1 percentage from deep would be tops in the CAA.
• Phillip Shumpert has served as the Aggies' interim head coach since last August and has been with the program for the past three seasons as an assistant coach.
 
ELON BASKETBALL LIVE RETURNS
• With the start of the new calendar year coinciding with the beginning of Colonial Athletic Association play, Elon Basketball Live presented by MaGerks returned on Monday, Jan. 9. The show will take place at MaGerks Pub & Grill in Elon.
• Elon Basketball Live is the exclusive chance for fans to hear directly from head women's basketball coach Charlotte Smith and head men's basketball coach Billy Taylor all winter long. The longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will chat with both Smith and Taylor, along with player guests, about recent and upcoming games.
• Fans are invited to attend the broadcast live and can also listen via The Varsity Network app on their phone or smart device. The show will also be available on Tuesday morning via The Voices of Elon Athletics Podcast on Spotify.
 
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
The Phoenix travels to CAA-leader and No. 22 College of Charleston on Saturday, Jan. 14. That game is set for a 4 p.m. start time at TD Arena.