ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team returns home to the friendly confines at Schar Center as the Phoenix (9-12, 2-6 CAA) hosts Campbell (10-11, 4-4 CAA) on Thursday night, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. to close out the first half of league play.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will stream 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 along with analyst Katie Bennert 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/X 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.
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTION
• The team is hosting Jersey Jam presented by Jersey Mike's Subs on Thursday. Replica Elon No. 6 jerseys will be handed out to the first 200 active Elon University students along with a sub from Jersey Mike's.
• Also, at halftime get treated to a show by the ZOOperstars!, consistently ranked among the "Best Basketball Halftime Acts" around the country.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Elon and Campbell will meet for the second time in just a week. Going into Thursday's matchup, the Phoenix holds a 24-14 all-time ledger over the Camels including a 3-2 record at the Division I era (since 1999-2000).
• The Phoenix will look to avenge its setback to the Camels last Thursday as Elon was handed a 78-68 defeat. The victory was Campbell's second straight over the maroon and gold on its home floor.
• Zac Ervin led four players in double figures for the Phoenix with a season-high 19 points off the bench. TK Simpkins and Rob Higgins each added 12 points while Max Mackinnon contributed with 10.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon defeated Hampton, 80-74, in its most recent game last Saturday at the Pirates. The victory was the Phoenix's first true road win on the season while also snapping its five-game losing streak.
• Sam Sherry paced three Elon players in double-digit scoring with 16 points. Simpkins had 15 while Mackinnon contributed with 14 along with a game-high seven assists.
• The win improved the maroon and gold to 2-0 all-time versus the Pirates. Elon also knocked down 90 percent of its free throws (18-of-20) for its best performance at the charity stripe this season.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon ranks in the top three of the CAA in three-point percentage (2^nd, 36.6), effective field goal percentage (2^nd, 53.3), bench points per game (3^rd, 28.19) and scoring offense (3^rd, 76.9 points per game). The Phoenix sits 30^th overall in the nation in bench points per game.
• Mackinnon leads a trio of double-figure scorers for the Phoenix with his team-high 12.3 points per game. The Brisbane, Australia, native leads the Phoenix in total rebounds with 99 with a 4.7 boards per game average while also being second on the team in assists with 54. He is also hitting just under 40 percent of his attempts from downtown (39.1).
• Higgins is tied for second on the team at 11.6 points per contest while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from downtown this season. The Middletown, N.J., native is also the team's leading scorer during league play so far, averaging 13.4 points per game and has scored in double figures in seven of his past eight games. The fifth-year is also pacing the Phoenix in assists with 62.
• Simpkins is tied with Higgins for second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game while leading the team in total steals with 26 for a 1.4 steals per game average. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, averaging 12.8 points per game. He also leads the team in free throws with 67 after going 9-of-9 at from the line at Hampton.
• Ervin averaged 14 points per game in the Phoenix's last two games, shooting 50 percent from the floor (8-of-16) while knocking down 7-of-15 from downtown. The Gate City, Va., native has made 194 career three-pointers, moving into the program's top-10 career list.
• Elon has had a strong presence at the rim this season, recording 64 blocks through its first 21 games. That total is just five shy of the 69 that were posted in all of 2022-23.
• 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. Other returners on the Phoenix include sophomores Otto Luessenhop and Austin Williams.
•Elon welcomes seven newcomers to its roster for 2023-24. Joining the Phoenix are transfers Rob Higgins and TK Simpkins along with incoming freshmen Kendall Campbell, Nick Dorn, Isaac Harrell, 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, 179-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, 184-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 CAMPBELL
• The Camels are 10-11 on the season while posting a 4-4 ledger so far in its first foray in the CAA. Campbell fell in its most recent game against College of Charleston last Saturday, 90-67.
• Campbell is averaging 68.0 points on 46.0 percent shooting, including 32.0 percent from 3-point range, with 32.5 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.6 blocks per game, while allowing 67.2 points on 42.6 percent shooting, including 31.1 percent from 3-point range. The Camels are connecting on 72.6 percent from the free throw line.
• Two players (Anthony Dell'Orso and Laurynas Vaistaras) are averaging in double figures, while one other player is averaging better than eight points per game. Dell'Orso is the Camels' leading scorer at 17.5 points per game while also being the team's leading rebounder (6.1 rpg). The Melbourne, Australia, native scored 29 points against the Phoenix last week while also grabbing nine rebounds.
• Vaistaras is second on the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game and is shooting 56.5 percent from the floor. The senior is also the team's best playmaker with 60 assists while hitting 41.9 percent from downtown.
• Kevin McGeehan is in his 11th season as the head coach at Campbell. Over the past six seasons, McGeehan has led the Camels to 122 wins, the most in a seven-year span in the program's Division I history (since '77-78). During that span, the Camels have claimed four Big South trophies. Campbell won the 2019 Big South regular season title and finished as Big South tournament runner-up in 2017, 2021 and 2023.
 
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 gears up for the second half of its CAA schedule, making the short trip down I-40 to face North Carolina A&T on Saturday, Feb. 3. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will air on the CBS Sports Network.