ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team concludes its two-game road swing on Thursday, Feb. 23, as the Phoenix (8-21, 6-10 Colonial Athletic Association) visits William & Mary (10-19, 5-11 CAA). Tipoff time is set for 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Thursday's game will stream 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
• Thursday will be the second matchup of the season between the Phoenix and the Tribe and the 26^th overall in the all-time series. William & Mary holds a 17-8 advantage over Elon, but the maroon and gold has won five out of the past six meetings.
• Both teams met on Feb. 11 at Schar Center with the Phoenix coming away with a 66-55 victory over the Tribe. The 55 points scored by William & Mary tied for the fewest points allowed by an Elon opponent this season.
• Max Mackinnon led a trio of double-digit scorers with 22 points in addition to tallying a game-high nine rebounds. Mackinnon went 9-for-15 from the field en route to his fourth 20-point performance of the season.
• Sean Halloran followed Mackinnon with 18 points – including 11 in the second half – and Sam Sherry added 14.
• Elon outrebounded the Tribe, 40-28. The 12-board margin marked the Phoenix's largest against a Division I opponent since outrebounding Hofstra by 29 (55-26) on Feb. 24, 2022.
• Since joining the CAA, Elon is only 2-6 at William & Mary. The Phoenix's last win at Kaplan Arena came on Feb. 20, 2021, with Elon earning a 75-54 victory.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• A balanced attack helped the Phoenix to a 75-68 victory at Monmouth on Saturday, Feb. 18. Five players scored in double figures for Elon, which won its sixth game out of its past eight contests.
• Halloran led the maroon and gold with 16 points while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Mackinnon added his third double-double of the season and flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
• Torrence Watson (12), Jerald Gillens-Butler (11) and Sherry (11) also had double-digit performances for Elon. LA Pratt nearly joined them as the freshman tied his season-high with nine points.
• Elon shot 48 percent from the field against the Hawks. It is the fifth time the Phoenix has shot at least 47 percent during the team's 6-2 stretch. Prior to that, Elon had shot 47 percent in a game just three times in the first 21 games.
• Elon outrebounded Monmouth, 40-31, and had 14 offensive rebounds. Elon has tied or led the rebounding stat in six of the past seven games. 
 
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, Oi Oi Oi
• Mackinnon was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday, Feb. 20, the third straight week he has been recognized with the weekly accolade.
• The Brisbane, Australia, native helped the Phoenix continue its winning ways of late as Elon won two of its three contests last week. Mackinnon scored a game-high 18 points and hit the game-winning free throws in Elon's 70-68 win over Hampton last Monday, Feb. 13. He added his third double-double of the season at Monmouth and ended the week averaging 11.3 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per contest and 3.0 assists per game.
• Mackinnon ties Hofstra's Amar'e Marshall for the most CAA Rookie of the Week honors this season. It's also the most for an Elon freshman since Hunter McIntosh was selected four times in 2019-20.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon is averaging 66.5 points per game and ranks fourth in the CAA in fastbreak points at 9.28 points per game and assists-to-turnover ratio (1.03) and fifth in assists (12.6).
• The Phoenix is tied for seventh in the CAA standings with its 6-10 ledger. Elon is tied with Delaware, Northeastern and Stony Brook, but holds the tiebreaker over the Huskies and Seawolves due to its head-to-head matchup victories over both schools. The Phoenix also faces the Blue Hens in its final contest of the regular season on Saturday.
• Halloran continues to lead the Phoenix in scoring at 13.0 points per game and has led Elon in scoring nine times this year. The Orlando, Fla., native has scored in double figures a team-best 23 times.
• Halloran is also the Phoenix's top playmaker with 122 total assists. His 4.2 assist average is sixth in the CAA and the highest for the program since Luke Eddy averaged 4.5 assists per game during the 2015-16 season.
• Halloran is third in the CAA in total steals (54) and tied for second in steals per game (1.9). He currently sits only two steals shy of tying Scottie Rice's D-I mark of 56 thefts in 2003-04.
• Mackinnon is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game and rebounds at 5.3 boards per contest. He's also scored in double figures in seven of his past eight games and is second to Halloran in assists (72) and steals (30).
• Watson had his second 20-point scoring performance of the season with his season-high 25 points against College of Charleston on Thursday, Feb. 16. The St. Louis native later tied his season-high with four triples at Monmouth on Saturday.
• Watson has also been a spark on the boards for the Phoenix, averaging a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. Over his last nine games, Watson has had four double-digit rebounding games and is averaging 8.9 rebounds per game during that stretch.
• Zac Ervin leads the Phoenix with 57 makes from three-point range and has knocked down 153 treys in his career. The Gate City, Va., native is third on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game.
• Health has been a major storyline for the Phoenix this season. Five players – Halloran, Ervin, Sherry, John Bowen III and Pratt – have appeared in all 28 games so far for the Phoenix. Elon has also had four scholarship players – Gillens-Butler, Andrew Junkin, JaDun Michael and Deandre Smart – miss eight or more games this season with injuries.
 
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
• The Tribe head into Thursday's matchup on a two-game losing streak after dropping contests at Stony Brook and Northeastern last week. William & Mary's last win was a 68-66 victory over Towson on Feb. 13.
• William & Mary is one spot behind the Phoenix in the CAA standings with its 5-11 record. The Tribe is averaging 67.3 points per game while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three, which is second in the CAA. Defensively, William & Mary is allowing 70.8 points per game with opponents knocking down 46.2 percent of their shots.
• Anders Nelson leads three players scoring in double figures for the Tribe at 11.6 points per game. The Edina, Minn., native is fourth in the CAA in assists with 126 at 4.3 assists per game. Gabe Dorsey is second on the team with 10.9 points per game and is knocking down a CAA-best 44.4 percent from three-point range. Dorsey is also hitting 3.04 treys per game, which is also best in the league. Ben Wight is the third player scoring in double-digits at 10.9 points per game and is knocking down 52.3 percent of his shots to lead the Tribe.
• William & Mary is led by fourth-year head coach Dane Fischer, who has posted a 43-67 record at the helm of the Tribe men's basketball program.
 
ELON BASKETBALL LIVE RETURNS
• With the start of the new calendar year coinciding with the beginning of Colonial Athletic Association play, Elon Basketball Live presented by MaGerks returned on Monday, Jan. 9. The show will take place at MaGerks Pub & Grill in Elon.
• Elon Basketball Live is the exclusive chance for fans to hear directly from head women's basketball coach Charlotte Smith and head men's basketball coach Billy Taylor all winter long. The longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will chat with both Smith and Taylor, along with player guests, about recent and upcoming games.
• Fans are invited to attend the broadcast live and can also listen via The Varsity Network app on their phone or smart device. The show will also be available on Tuesday morning via The Voices of Elon Athletics Podcast on Spotify.
 
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
Elon closes out its regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25, versus Delaware at Schar Center at 7 p.m. The program will also host Senior Night and honor its five-person senior/graduate class of Bowen III, Gillens-Butler, Halloran, Junkin and Watson with ceremonies scheduled at 6:30 p.m.