WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – In the Phoenix's season opener Monday, the Elon University men's basketball team displayed an impressive first-half performance against Wake Forest. 

Elon had a strong start to the game, taking an early 9-3 lead on its ACC opponent. Max Mackinnon played a pivotal role in this initial lead, contributing seven of the Phoenix's first nine points. 

The Phoenix extended its lead further with an 11-0 run to take a 22-11 advantage. Elon continued to stretch the lead, going up by as many as 21 before finishing the first half with a 55-43 advantage.

Our mood from the opening half!#phoenixrising pic.twitter.com/AA9vqXkWNB

— Elon Men's Basketball (@ElonMBasketball) November 7, 2023

Wake Forest made a comeback in the second half, as the Demon Deacons went on an 18-1 run early in the second half to regain control of the game. Wake took the victory, 101-78.

"We're young people," Mackinnon said. "We've got to learn from it game by game and we'll build on it."

The Phoenix came into the matchup with a revamped roster. Of the 16 players for Elon, 12 are first years or sophomores. Head coach Billy Taylor expressed optimism about the team's potential for growth and recognized the learning opportunities provided by this game, especially in the first half.

"We did a lot of things that were terrific in terms of executing the game plan," Taylor said. "Whether it's getting downhill, sharing the basketball, playing fast, playing in transition and we're pretty connected defensively." 

Elon's 78 points are the most that the maroon and gold has put up against the Demon Deacons in the six-game series history. It is also the most points the Phoenix has scored against a Power 5 opponent since 2014 when the Phoenix put up 73 versus Missouri.

Freshman guard Nick Dorn scored 13 points in 20 minutes in his regular season debut with the Phoenix. Dorn said the team needs to build on the first half success moving forward.

Nick Dorn with team high 13 points & @ElonMBasketball shoots 64% from 3pt range and leads @WakeMBB 55-43 at the half. @WFMY #wfmysports pic.twitter.com/abOHYQeChw

— Brian Hall (@bhallwfmy) November 7, 2023

"It lets us know that we have a lot of potential but we need to close and keep doing the same things we're doing in that first half throughout the whole season," Dorn said.

Dorn made all four of his free throw attempts, sunk three three-pointers and went 3-6 from the field. Dorn said the team saw success by sharing the ball. 

"We played as a team, shared the ball," Dorn said. "Everybody got a piece of the pie, we need to keep doing that going forward".

The Phoenix shot over 60% from the field in the first half and knocked down nine three pointers, Elon's 55 first-half points were more than the team scored in any half last season. 

"I really was impressed with the way that we came out, the way that we played." Taylor said. "And even as we started to trade baskets late in the first half I thought we had a good response." 

Even after such a promising first half against a Power 5 opponent, Taylor believes the team can improve as they prepare for their next game, scheduled for Thursday. 

"We had a lot to take away, and hopefully, we can be better on Thursday." 

Elon will host East Tennessee State University in its home-opener on Nov. 9. The game at Schar Center will begin at 7 p.m. 
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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