ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team continues its two-game road trip with a visit to intrastate foe UNCW on Monday night, Jan. 16, at Trask Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Monday'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 UNCW will meet for the 30^th time in their histories with the Seahawks holding a slight 15-14 advantage in the all-time series that dates to 1974.
• Both teams are meeting for the second time this season after matching up just a week and a half ago in Elon with UNCW coming away with an 81-66 victory on Jan. 4. The victory was the 12^th in a row for the Seahawks overall spoiling the Phoenix's Colonial Athletic Association home-opener.
• UNCW's Trazarien White led all scorers with his career-high 26 points in the contest. Elon's 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.
• The last Elon win in the series came in a 78-65 victory over the Seahawks at Schar Center on Feb. 3, 2022. The win snapped UNCW's 12-game winning streak while keeping the Phoenix undefeated at Schar Center against its intrastate league foe with a 3-0 ledger.
• Since becoming league opponents during the 2014-15 season, the Seahawks hold a 10-8 advantage over the maroon and gold during the regular season and are 2-0 in the CAA Tournament.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon began its road swing with a visit to No. 22 College of Charleston on Saturday, Jan. 14. The Phoenix held a 34-32 opening-half lead over the Cougars, but could not overcome 15 CofC three-pointers as Charleston won 78-60 to extend its win streak to 17.
• The loss for the Phoenix overshadowed the second double-double of the season for freshman Max Mackinnon, who scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. The Brisbane, Australia, native was 7-of-10 from the floor and had four assists.
• Elon's halftime lead marked its first against a ranked opponent since Nov. 20, 2019, when the Phoenix led then-fifth-ranked North Carolina 33-32 at the break.
• The Phoenix shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the opening half against Charleston, the highest percentage that the Cougars have allowed in the first period all season. That performance is also the second-best for the Phoenix this season. Overall, the maroon and gold outshot the Cougars, 44 percent to 39 percent, in the game.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Sean Halloran leads the Phoenix in scoring at 12.6 points per game while his 81 total assists rank second in the CAA. His 4.5 assist average is the highest for the program since Luke Eddy also averaged 4.5 assists per game during the 2015-16 season and would be the second-best single-season average at the program's Division I level behind Chris Long's 6.1 APG average in 2010-11.
• Despite failing to record a steal against College of Charleston, Halloran is still leading the CAA in total steals (41) and is second in steals per game (2.3). 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.
• Halloran has also been close to automatic at the charity stripe this season with his 93.8 free throw percentage (45-of-48). That percentage leads the CAA and is sixth overall in the country.
• Mackinnon has played well in his past two games, averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 59.1 percent from the floor (13-of-22). He also has pulled down 9.0 boards per game in his past two contests and his two double-doubles this season are the most for an Elon freshman since Hunter Woods had three in 2019-20.
• Mackinnon and Ervin are tied for second on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game. However, Ervin is the team's leading scorer at 12.8 points per contest in league play and has scored in double figures in the past four CAA games.
• Health has been a major storyline for the Phoenix this season. Five players – Halloran, Ervin, Sam Sherry, John Bowen III and LA Pratt – have appeared in all 18 games so far for the Phoenix. The last time Elon played UNCW, Elon only had eight scholarship players available against the Seahawks.
• Watson scored in double figures for the third straight game at Charleston, matching his longest streak of the year. The St. Louis native is averaging 13.0 ppg off the bench for Elon and shooting 54 percent from the floor in his past three games.
• After losing 73 percent of its scoring from last year's team, 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 (628 of 1195).
 
SCOUTING UNCW
• The Seahawks (14-5, 4-2 CAA) enter Monday's matchup coming off back-to-back losses at home. After extending their win streak to a school-record 13 games after beating Elon and N.C. A&T, UNCW has dropped contests to College of Charleston and William & Mary with the Tribe escaping with a two-point win, 69-67 on Saturday. Prior to the two-game setbacks, UNCW was 6-0 at Trask Coliseum.
• UNCW is fourth in the league in scoring at 71.3 points per game and is solid on the defensive end, leading the league in field goal percentage defense (41.8) and three-point percentage defense (31.0). The Seahawks are also in the top 15 in the country in bench points per game (30.4).
• White is the lone member of the Seahawks averaging double figures at 14.6 points per game. The sophomore forward is also the team's leading rebounder at 6.1 boards per contest.
•  Four other players are averaging between 9.5 and 7.7 points per game with Maleeck Harden-Hayes being the second-leading scorer for the Seahawks at 9.5 PPG. The senior guard has posted four straight double-digit scoring outings including a season-high 25 versus North Carolina A&T.
• UNCW head coach Takayo Siddle is 3-2 all-time versus the Phoenix, but only one of those wins came on the home floor at Trask Coliseum. Overall, Siddle is 48-24 in his three-year head coaching career.
 
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 returns to its home floor at Schar Center hosting Towson next Saturday, Jan. 21. That game is set for a 4 p.m. start time and will air on FloHoops.