Rock Hill, S.C.- The Elon University men's basketball team will complete an in-season tournament gauntlet of games this weekend in the Rock Hill Classic hosted by Winthrop University. The Phoenix will face off with IUPUI, Holy Cross and Winthrop in a span of three days at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

HOW TO FOLLOW
• All three games will be streamed on ESPN+. Links for the broadcasts and live stats of each game can be found on the Elon men's basketball schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Listen to the Elon Sports Network from Learfield coverage on The Varsity Network app.
• Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with the pregame show beginning 30 minutes before each game.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter by following @ElonMBasketball.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
• Single-game tickets are now available for the 2023-24 Elon Basketball season! Don't miss the action, be there to cheer on your Phoenix! Grab your tickets today and be a part of the excitement in Schar Center!
• The Elon University Department of Athletics has many ticket options available for fans, including season tickets, single-game tickets and voucher books.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
 
THE MATCHUP
• This will be Elon's third straight season playing in an in-season tournament with the Phoenix participating in the Charleston Classic in 2021 and the Asheville Championship in 2022.
• For the first time under Billy Taylor, the Phoenix will play three new opponents in the span of three days. This will chance for the Phoenix to see a new wave of teams in a new era under Coach Taylor. 
• Elon will face off with IUPUI in game one of the Rock Hill Classic. The Phoenix and Jaguars will meet for the first time since 2005 with the Phoenix looking for win number one against IUPUI in the all-time series. 
• The Phoenix will then battle with the Holy Cross Crusaders in game two on Saturday at 7:30 P.M. This will be the first ever meeting between the Phoenix and the Crusaders as both look to bounce back after losses last weekend. 
• Elon will battle with Winthrop in the final game of the Rock Hill Classic on Sunday beginning at 2:30 P.M. The Phoenix and Eagles last met in 2019 in a game that ended in an 85-80 Winthrop victory. Both Marcus Sheffield and Hunter McIntosh finished with 20-plus point performances, with Sheffield's final tally reaching 27 while McIntosh finished with 22. 


LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix were bested by North Dakota in Grand Forks last Sunday, 85-68.
• Mackinnon would start hot against the Fighting Hawks, turning into a one-man wrecking crew against the green & white. Mackinnon scored eight of the first 10 Elon points by nailing a pair of three pointers on back-to-back positions.
• Elon continued to strike from the outside with consecutive three-point jumpers by LA Pratt and Mackinnon.
• The offenses would begin to stall during the midway point of the 1^st half, but trips to the foul line for the Phoenix would continue to put points on the board for the maroon & gold.
• The Phoenix would again use the long ball from Simpkins and Rob Higgins to even the score at 33 at the under four media time out.
• A layup by freshman Isaac Harrell off a sweet dish from Pratt would give the Phoenix a two-point halftime lead.
• The teams would trade buckets in the first three minutes in the half, but the Fighting Hawks would begin to pull away with a 10-0 run to pull ahead by 10.
• Another Fighting Hawks run would stretch the lead to as high as 21 with over four minutes left.
• The final margin would finish at 17 as the Phoenix fell to the Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks.
• Elon's bench proved to be productive again, outscoring North Dakota's bench. 12 different Phoenix would add a bucket to the box score.
• Sam Sherry recorded his first start of the year against North Dakota and lead the Phoenix in rebounding with eight boards.  
• Mackinnon led the Phoenix with 17 points, all coming in the first half.
• The Phoenix finished with 12 offensive rebounds and 16 second chance points. 

SCOUTING ELON
• Max Mackinnon started the game against the Fighting Hawks fast with a flurry of first-half buckets. The sophomore poured in 17 first half points to give Elon a halftime edge.
• Mackinnon made three three-pointers last Thursday to match his career-high, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. On the season, Mackinnon is tied for the team-lead with four made threes this year.
• Mackinnon currently leads the team in scoring (16 ppg), rebounds (4.67 rpg) and assists (3.3 apg) all while shooting 60 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range.
• Pratt's career scoring game against the Buccaneers included him going 4-of-6 from downtown while also tying Mackinnon for the team-lead in assists with three.
• Sam Sherry made his season-debut for the Phoenix versus ETSU. The junior played 13 minutes and scored five points with a pair of blocked shots.
• TK Simpkins made his first start for the Phoenix on Thursday. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored eight points with four rebounds and four steals in 26 minutes. The sophomore is currently tied for the CAA-lead in steals per game at 3.5.
• Elon showcased its depth versus the Buccaneers with 10 players seeing action and playing at least 10 minutes. All 10 players also scored for the Phoenix.
• Graduate student Zac Ervin has 161 made threes in his career. That is only two away from tying TJ Douglas for 13^th on the program's all-time list.
• The Phoenix returns eight players from last year's roster for second-year head coach Billy Taylor. Elon was predicted to finish 10^th in the 2023-24 CAA Preseason Poll after going 6-12 in league play last season.
• Along with Mackinnon, other returning starters for the Phoenix include Ervin and junior Sam Sherry. Ervin led the Phoenix in three-point makes last season with 61 while averaging 9.3 points per contest. The 6-foot-5 guard was third on the team in minutes per game (27.5) and assists (47).
• After averaging less than 10 minutes a game as a freshman, Sherry came on strong during his sophomore campaign. The Mechanicsville, Pa., native averaged 9.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while blocking a team-high 25 shots. He also finished second on the team in field-goal percentage at 57.8 and ended the year with his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds versus William & Mary at the CAA Tournament.
• The maroon and gold also welcomes back three other veterans in senior JaDun Michael and sophomores Smart and LA Pratt. Michael played in 18 games with five starts, averaging 4.1 points. Pratt saw valuable playing time during his freshman season in which he started eight games while Smart gave the Phoenix valuable minutes off the bench before an injury cut short his season in which he averaged 9.0 points per game while 72.2 percent from the floor.
•Elon welcomes eight newcomers to its roster for 2023-24. Joining the Phoenix are transfers Rob Higgins and TK Simpkins along with incoming freshmen Nick Dorn, Grant Gondrezick II, Ned Hull and Savion Taylor and Isaac Harrell and Kendall Campbell.
• Among the notable newcomers include Higgins, a transfer from St. Francis Brooklyn College where he spent the past four seasons. A 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard from Middletown, N.J., Higgins tied for the team-lead in scoring this past season at St. Francis Brooklyn, averaging 11.3 points per contest.
• Simpkins is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard who was a member of the Northwest Florida State College program last season. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native appeared in 37 games for the Raiders, averaging 8.8 points per game.
 
SCOUTING IUPUI
• The Jaguars are 2-1 on the young season after playing at Indiana State on Tuesday and suffering a 96-57 setback against the Sycamores.
• IUPUI is coming off a 5-27 record last season and went 2-18 in Horizon League play. The Jaguars were tabbed tenth in the Horizon League Preseason poll.
• IUPUI's top returning play is preseason second teamer Jlynn Counter. Counter was selected to the Horizon League Preseason Second Team following a third team finish a season ago. He averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game during Horizon League play. Counter scored a season high 27 points twice last season. He was just shy of a double-double in a 22-point, eight rebound performance against Wright State on Feb. 8.
• Matt Crenshaw is in his third season leading the Jaguars program. His head coaching record leading IUPUI is 10-55. Crenshaw is a former IUPUI player and has spent time on the Jaguar sidelines as a player, assistant coach, associate head coach and now the head coach.
 
SCOUTING Holy Cross
• The Crusaders are 1-2 on the season following a loss in their first home game against Sacred Heart, 84-77.
• The lone victory for Holy Cross came on the road against Georgetown in D.C. in a 68-67 upset win. Guard Joe Octave led the way for the Crusaders against the Hoyas with a 33-point performance in the upset.
• Holy Cross was picked fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll with Colgate earning the top preseason billing.
• Octave is joined by big man Caleb Kenney who dropped 20 points against Sacred Heart in just 24 minutes of play. The Crusaders have a pair of sharpshooters in guards Joe Nugent and Will Batchelder. Nugent leads the team in three pointers made and three-point percentage.
• Dave Paulsen enters his first season with the College of the Holy Cross in 2023-24. He brings 27 years of head coaching experience to the Crusaders following head coaching stints at George Mason, Bucknell, Williams, Le Moyne and St. Lawrence.

SCOUTING Winthrop
• Winthrop has begun the season 1-2 following a win over Brevard and losses to Clemson and the CAA's Drexel Dragons.
• In their most recent contest, a layup from Drexel's Justin Moore gave the Dragons a two-point lead with two seconds left which they would hold onto in the victory at Winthrop Coliseum.
• Winthrop was picked third in the Big South preseason poll with three Eagles earning preseason all-conference honors.
• Senior Kelton Talford was voted to the preseason all-conference first team while senior's Kasen Harrison and Sin-Cere McMahon were voted to the second team.
• Talford was an All-Big South first team selection last season after leading the Eagles in scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg). He led the league in field goal percentage as well at just under 67 percent from the field which was good for sixth nationally.
• Harrison led the team in assists during the 2022-23 season and scored at better than 11 ppg. McMahon was third on the Eagles in scoring last season and set career highs in points, points per game, three-point field goals made, free throws made, free throw percentage and assists. McMahon scored 20 points or more eight times a season ago.

 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Sophomore Max Mackinnon received some preseason praise from the CAA as the Brisbane, Australia, native was named to the 2023-24 Preseason All-CAA second team on Oct. 19.
• The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year in 2022-23, Mackinnon is the Phoenix's returning leader in points (11.4 ppg), rebounds (5.1 rpg), assists (2.4 apg) and steals (1.1 spg). Mackinnon is coming off a rookie campaign in which he shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and was named CAA Rookie of the Week selection a league-high four times. He also led the program with three double-doubles and scored in double figures 17 times including four 20-point performances.
• Among Mackinnon's standout games last season included him scoring 19 points at No. 18/21 Indiana, the second-highest point total that a freshman has scored against the Hoosiers at that point of the season. He also scored a season-high 24 points while adding his first career double-double with 12 rebounds at High Point. He also added 20 points and a season-best eight assists at Northeastern while scoring 17 points with a career-best 13 rebounds at No. 22 College of Charleston.
 

UP NEXT
Elon will return to Schar Center following the Thanksgiving holiday for two home games. The Phoenix will welcome Presbyterian College on Nov. 27 for a 7 P.M. tipoff with the Blue Hose.