ELON, N.C. – After a six-game road stand, the Elon University men's basketball team returns to its home floor at Schar Center as the Phoenix (5-3) hosts Wofford (4-5) on Saturday night, Dec. 7. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will stream on FloCollege 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 along with Will Roberson with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 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.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Former longtime conference opponents, Elon and Wofford will meet for the 52^nd time on Saturday. The Phoenix leads the all-time series 30-21, but the Terriers have won six of the last seven contests.
• The two teams last met on Feb. 27, 2014, in Elon's final season in the Southern Conference. Wofford came away with a 63-59 victory over the Phoenix at Alumni Gym. Lucas Troutman finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 shooting at the free throw line. He also had a game-high eight boards to go along with four blocks.
• Elon's last win of the series came on January 19, 2013, with the Phoenix prevailing with a 68-61 verdict on its home floor. Jack Isenbarger led the Phoenix with 17 points in the victory while Troutman scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with six boards and two blocks.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon closed out its road swing with a 68-53 victory at Penn in the Phoenix's final game at the Cathedral Classic Invitational presented by Toyota on Sunday, Dec. 1. The win helped the maroon and gold post a 2-1 ledger at the tournament.
• The Phoenix had four players score in double figures with Sam Sherry leading the way with 16 points. Nick Dorn had 15 while TK Simpkins added 12. Matthew Van Komen posted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
• Elon jumped ahead with an 8-0 lead in the contest and held a 12-3 advantage over the Quakers in the opening half. Penn was able to rally back and tie the game at 18-all at the midway point of the first period, but a 7-0 run and an 8-2 run helped the Phoenix take a 37-26 lead going into halftime.
• Penn would get as close as four points in the second half, but Elon did not let the hosts get any closer as the Phoenix expanded its lead before taking the 15-point win.
• Elon shot 49 percent in the game (28-of-57) and 35 percent from beyond the arc (6-of-17).
• This was Elon's first-ever win over the Quakers with the all-time series moving to 2-1 in favor of Penn.
 
SCOUTING WOFFORD
• The Terriers are 4-5 coming into the game on Saturday after an 88-64 win at home versus Gardner-Webb on Wednesday. Wofford's game at Elon begins a three-game road trip for the Terriers.
• Wofford is averaging 75.0 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting, including 34.0 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 71.0 points on 43.9 percent shooting, including 32.1 percent from long range. The Terriers are shooting 64.3 percent from the free throw line.
• Three players are averaging in double figures led by senior Corey Tripp, who is averaging 13.6 points on 41.3 percent shooting, including 30 percent from 3-point range. Senior Dillon Bailey averages 12.1 points on 48.8 percent shooting to go along with team-bests in three-point makes (23). Senior Kyler Filewich averages a near double-double with 10.7 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds.
• Wofford was picked fourth in the 2024-25 Preseason SoCon poll after the Terriers returned four lettermen, including four starters, from a team that posted an 17-15 record and was fifth overall in the conference with a 10-8 record.
• Dwight Perry is in his third season as the head coach at Wofford. Perry also spent four other seasons at Wofford, two as an assistant coach and two as associate head coach. In his five overall seasons with Wofford, the team has posted winning records in all five campaigns. He has seen six different players earn All-Southern Conference honors, along with coaching five players who earned All-Freshman team accolades.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Junior guard TK Simpkins was named to the 2024-25 Preseason All-CAA as the league announced its preseason awards on Oct. 18. Simpkins is the second Phoenix to earn a spot on the All-CAA preseason team in the past two seasons.
• The Brooklyn, N.Y., native was the Phoenix's top scorer at 13.8 points per game and in total assists with 90. He also finished second on the squad at 4.7 rebounds per game while pacing the Phoenix in free throws made at 128 while hitting 74 percent from the charity stripe.
• During the CAA season, Simpkins upped his scoring average to 14.6 per game and tied for the team-lead in rebounds per contest (4.9) while dishing out 3.7 assists per game. He was also active on the defensive end, recording 45 steals on the season. He scored in double figures 21 times in 2023-24.
 
2023-24 REWIND
• The Phoenix returned nine players from its squad a season ago including three starters. Overall, Elon brings back 54 percent of its scoring, 66 percent of its rebounding, 43 percent of its assists and 41 percent of its three-point field goals from 2023-24.
• Elon is coming off a season ranking third in the CAA in three-point field goal percentage (35.2), fourth in three-point attempts (24.4) and fourth in steals per game (6.3). The Phoenix also posted its first winning record on its home floor at Schar Center for the first time in the seven-year facility (excluding the truncated 2020-21 COVID season).
• Along with Simpkins, Elon's other returning starters are senior forward Sam Sherry and sophomore guard Nick Dorn. Both players averaged over nine points per game while starting at least 22 games for the maroon and gold.
• Head coach Billy Taylor begins his third season at the helm of the Phoenix men's basketball program. Taylor helped the Phoenix to post its first winning record at the Schar Center last season while also helping the maroon and gold earn a pair of wins versus teams with an RPI/NET rating of 150 in UNCW and Delaware.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
• Single-game tickets are available for purchase on ElonTickets.com. Single-game tickets begin at $20 for men's basketball. Fans are able to purchase a book of 10 ticket vouchers for $100. These vouchers are redeemable for a ticket to any Elon men's regular season home game. 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.
• Elon men's basketball season tickets are just $170. For Phoenix Club donors at the Elon Society level, courtside seats are $210, and access to the Sunbrella Club is $360. The Sunbrella Club provides private access to a cash bar and food buffet catered by Harvest Table with a rotation of menus for each game.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix hosts University of Virginia Lynchburg at home next Saturday, Dec. 14 with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. The contest will stream on FloCollege.