Radford, Va. – The Elon University men's basketball team (5-3) will hit the road this weekend to take on the Radford Highlanders (5-4). Tipoff is set for 2:00 P.M. Sunday afternoon. The Phoenix looks to continue strong start which is the best start to a season for the Elon basketball program since 2017-18.



HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will stream live on ESPN+ 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 1:30 p.m. EST.
• 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
• Elon trails the all-time matchup with Radford, 9-5 with Sunday's contest being the 15^th matchup all-time between the Phoenix and Highlanders.
• The two played last season for the first time since 2017 with the Phoenix falling to Radford 69-53. Sean Halloran led the way for the Phoenix with 15 points on the night.
• The last Elon victory over Radford came in 2017 as the Phoenix defeated Radford in Alumni Gym, 77-74. Dainan Swoope led the way for the Phoenix with a 24-point, eight rebound performance to help the Phoenix edge by Radford by three.


LAST TIME OUT
• Elon pulled in front of Warren Wilson College and never looked back in a 127-56 victory Thursday night. The 127-point performance is the highest scoring output in the history of the Elon program and the 71-point margin of victory shattered the previous record of 50.
• Elon jumped on the Owls with a quick 8-0 run thanks to a number of Sam Sherry field goals and offensive rebounds.
• Following five straight points from Warren Wilson, the Phoenix would go on another 8-0 spurt thanks to a pair of field goals from • TK Simpkins and a Nick Dorn dunk. The bench continued to produce in the first eight minutes with Zac Ervin and Deandre Smart finding the bottom of the bucket in the early going.
• Ervin would find success again from long range in the first ten minutes, extending Elon's lead to 20 within eight minutes of play.
Isaac Harrell would continue the Phoenix's points in the paint barrage with a field goal and a free throw to push Elon's lead to 34-11.
• Warren Wilson would get the lead down to 20, before a 14-2 run from the Phoenix featuring slams from both Sherry and Simpkins to push Elon's lead to 32.
• The Phoenix continued to pull away in the final five minutes of the first half, concluding with a 12-0 run to end the first frame, punctuated by six straight points from LA Pratt to end the first 20 minutes of play.
• In the second half, Elon picked up right where they left off with a set play that resulted in a Simpkins dunk to open the scoring. The two teams would trade baskets until the combination of Rob Higgins and Pratt began to get downhill towards the basket.
• Smart and Kendall Campbell began to show their size inside with a number of powerful finishes around the bucket to push Elon's lead to over 50 for just the second time in program history.
• Campbell and Smart would continue to punish inside with a number of layups and trips to the foul line. The pair would combine for 17 straight Phoenix points that pushed Elon over the century mark in points.
• Harrell and Pratt would combine for more points before Elon emptied the bench and Phoenix sophomore's Otto Luessenhop punctuated the night with an Otto hook shot and a pair of layups from Austin Williams.
• The final margin of victory would be 71 on the night with the Phoenix vanquishing the Owls 127-56.

 
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Simpkins currently leads the Phoenix in scoring at 12.6 ppg, just ahead of Max Mackinnon's 12.3 ppg average. Simpkins has scored in double figures in seven out of eight games this year with Elon going 4-2 in those contests. He is also in the top-10 of the CAA in steals per game, averaging 2.6 per contest.
• Mackinnon continues to display a great all-around game as the sophomore is currently second on the Phoenix in rebounds (5.5 rpg) and is second on the squad in assists with 23. The Brisbane, Australia, native is hitting just under 50 percent of his shots on the season at 48.1 percent and from downtown at 42.4 percent.
• Dorn is the third player for the maroon and gold averaging double figures at 11.0 points per game. Dorn is secomd behind Zac Ervin with 17 makes from three this season and has scored in double digits four times this year.
• Rob Higgins had 10 assists versus IUPUI, tying his overall career high. That number is also tied for the second-most in Elon's Division I history in a single-game. The Middletown, N.J., native is averaging just a shade over double digits at 10.1 points per game while leading the team in minutes played (28.6 mpg) and second on the Phoenix in assists with 20.
• Ervin has 175 made threes in his career, which is currently 12th in school history. He is only six triples from surpassing Drew Spradlin '12 for 11th all-time in program history.
• As a team, Elon currently ranks in the top-10 of the CAA in eight categories, including scoring offense (84.1 ppg), free throw percentage (73.4), field goal percentage (48.7), three-point percentage (39.1), three-point percentage defense (31.0), assists (14.75 apg), assist-turnover ratio (1.19) and three-pointers made per game (9.6).
• The Phoenix returns eight players from last year's roster for second-year head coach Billy Taylor. Elon was predicted to finish 10th 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.
• 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 Radford
• The Highlanders come into the matchup with a 5-4 record and coming off a loss against the Old Dominion Monarchs Wednesday night.
• Radford enters the matchup with Elon having played two-ranked teams so far this seaosn, falling to both North Carolina and James Madison.
• Point guard Kenyon Giles leads the Highlanders in points with 15.7 ppg. Giles has also chipped in 2.9 assists-per-game. Giles also earned a Big South Player of the Week award following his play against North Carolina and Marshall earlier last month.
• Justin Archer leads the way in the paint for Radford averaging just under eight points a game. The sophomore forward paces Radford on the glass with better than 8.5 rebounds per game.
• Darris Nichols is at the helm of the Radford program in his third season. The Radford High School hall of famer has a career record of 37-37 leading the program.
• Radford was picked second in the Big South preseason poll and received one first-place vote.


SIMPKINS, DORN SWEEP WEEKLY CAA AWARDS
• For their efforts at the Rock Hill Classic, Simpkins and Dorn were named the CAA Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, as announced by the league office on Nov. 20. It was the first time that the Phoenix has swept the league weekly awards since Darius Burford was named both the Player and Rookie of the Week on Feb. 22, of 2021.
• Along with his 15 points per game, Simpkins also averaged 5.0 rebounds per contest and had four steals. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored a season-high 19 points in the Phoenix's 86-72 win over IUPUI while also hitting 7-of-9 from the free throw line. He later had season-highs in rebounds (seven) and assists (five) while scoring 14 points versus Winthrop. He also hit 10 free throws in that game, tied for the most in the CAA this season.
• Dorn also scored a season-high 19 points versus IUPUI as the rookie was 4-of-9 from downtown in the contest. The Charlotte, N.C., native shot 38 percent from three (8-of-21) while pulling down 3.5 rebounds per game.
 

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 will continue their road trip returning to take on Triad foe UNCG on Dec. 10. Tip off between Elon and the Spartans will be at 4 P.M.