ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team is back on its home floor this week as the Phoenix (0-1) welcomes ETSU (1-0) for its home opener on Thursday, Nov. 9. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Schar Center.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will stream live on FloHoops via a paid subscription.
• Listen to the Elon Sports Network from Learfield IMG College's coverage 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.
 
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
• The Phoenix and the Buccaneers have met five times on the court since beginning series play in 2003 when the two were members of the Southern Conference.
• ETSU leads Elon in the all-time series, 4-1. The two teams played each other last season in the opening round of the Asheville Championship where the Buccaneers took a 77-64 win. John Bowen III tied his career-high with 17 points for Elon. Zac Ervin added 11 points for the Phoenix in that matchup.
• Elon's last win in the series versus ETSU came during the 2004-05 season with the Phoenix earning an 80-72 victory over the Buccaneers. LeVonn Jordan scored 20 points for the maroon and gold including going 12-for-17 at the free throw line. His 12 makes at the charity stripe tied for the fourth-most in a game in school history.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon opened its season on Monday at Wake Forest. Despite holding a double-digit lead in the opening half, the Phoenix could not withstand a second-half rally by the Demon Deacons and ultimately fell 101-78.
• The Phoenix led by as many as 21 points in the first half and shot nearly 64 percent from the field and over 64 percent from downtown in the opening period. The Phoenix finished the game overall shooting 47.5 percent from the floor while knocking down 43.5 percent of its shots from three.
• Zac Ervin led four Phoenix players in double figures as the Gate City, Va., native scored 17 points while hitting 4-of-6 from three-point range. Max Mackinnon had 14 points while Nick Dorn and TK Simpkins both added 13.
• Elon's 78 points are the most that the maroon and gold has put up against the Demon Deacons in its series history. It is also the most points the Phoenix has scored against a Power 5 opponent since putting up 73 versus Missouri in 2014.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon begins its sixth season playing at Schar Center on Thursday. Since beginning play at the facility in 2018, the Phoenix is 4-1 in its home openers.
• The 53 points that the Phoenix scored in the first half at Wake Forest are the most points for the Phoenix in a half since scoring 50 versus Johnson & Wales last season and the most versus a D-I opponent since having 45 versus North Carolina in 2018.
• The Phoenix was 10-of-23 from three-point range, reaching double digits in three-point makes in its season opener. Last season, Elon only had two games with double-digit threes.
• Elon had 11 players play versus the Demon Deacons on Monday including six players in their first year with the program. Three of those players – Nick Dorn, Kendall Campbell and Rob Higgins – started for the maroon and gold alongside returners Max Mackinnon and JaDun Michael.
• Ervin's four triples give the graduate student 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 five other veterans in senior JaDun Michael and sophomores Deandre Smart, LA Pratt, Otto Luessenhop and Austin Williams. 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 while Luessenhop and Williams also added depth for the Phoenix.
•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.
• 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 ETSU
• ETSU is coming off a 73-56 victory over King University in its season-opener on Monday night on its home floor. Four players scored in double figures for the Buccaneers led by Quimari Peterson with 15 points and a double-double for Jaden Seymour with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
• Last season, ETSU went 12-20 with an 8-10 ledger in the SoCon. The Bucs were tabbed to finish seventh in the 2023-24 SoCon Preseason Coaches' poll and sixth in the conference's media poll.
• The Bucs return four players from last year's roster who logged minutes, including starters Jaden Seymour and Allen Strothers, along with Justice Smith and Braden Ilic. Overall, ETSU only returns 29 percent of its scoring, 37 percent of its rebounding and 38 percent of its minutes played in 2022-23.
• ETSU is led by first-year head coach Brooks Savage who was named the 19th head coach in program history back on March 20. Savage spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Wake Forest and prior to that was a member of the Buccaneers' coaching staff from 2015-20.
 
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
The Phoenix travels to North Dakota for its next contest this Sunday, Nov. 12 versus the Fighting Hawks. Tip-off time is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.