ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team will be featured on national television this Monday night, Feb. 12 as the Phoenix (10-14, 3-8 CAA) travels to Towson (14-10, 7-4 CAA) for a matchup against the Tigers on the CBS Sports Network. Game time is scheduled for 9 p.m. at TU Arena.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will air on the CBS Sports Network with John Fanta and John Giannini on the call.
• 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 the pregame show beginning at 8:30 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.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Elon and Towson will face each other on the basketball hardwood for the 18th time in their series histories on Thursday. The Tigers hold a 10-7 advantage all-time over the Phoenix in a series dating back to 1999-2000.
• The Phoenix fell in the most recent matchup last season on Jan. 21 at Schar Center, 62-66. Two players reached double digit points for the Phoenix, including Jerald Gillens-Butler who paced the Phoenix with 14. Max Mackinnon notched 12 points and picked up five rebounds, four of them coming on the offensive glass. Sam Sherry had an impressive all-around performance, notching seven points and eight boards.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon fell to Stony Brook last Thursday, Feb. 9, falling 79-64. The Seawolves jumped out to an early lead, but the Phoenix clawed its way back on multiple occasions to make it close, cutting its deficit to two points in the second half. However, Elon's attempted rallies came up short. 
• TK Simpkins and Sam Sherry led the scoring for Phoenix, both notching 15 points. Sherry had a very efficient night, going 7-of-9 from the field. Simpkins posted a double-double with his career high 10 assists.
• Zac Ervin reached 200 made career 3-pointers, becoming one of just nine players ever to reach the mark for the Phoenix.
• Elon saw nine of its eleven players appear in the scoring column.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon ranks in the top-five of the CAA in bench points per game (3rd, 27.17) and effective field goal percentage (3rd, 53.0). They rank fifth in overall field goal percentage (5th, 45.6) and fourth in scoring offense (4th, 75.6 ppg) and fourth in three-point percentage (4th, 36.3). The Phoenix ranks 39th overall in the country in bench points and 62nd in the nation in three-point percentage.
• Mackinnon leads a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Phoenix with his team-high 12.0 points per game. The Brisbane, Australia, native is tied for the team-lead in rebounds per game (4.6) while also being third on the team in assists with 62. He is also hitting just under 40 percent of his attempts from downtown (39.8). The sophomore has also been a threat on the defensive end, recording 12 steals over his last nine games after having only five in his first 15 contests.
• Simpkins is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game while leading the team in total steals with 31 for a 1.5 steals per game average, sixth in the CAA. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also leads the team in free throws with 78 and has had four games with nine or more free throw makes.
• Rob Higgins is third on the team at 10.9 points per contest while shooting 46.2 percent from the field. The Middletown, N.J., native has raised his scoring during league play so far, averaging 11.3 points per game. The fifth-year is also pacing the Phoenix in assists with 69.
• Sherry now averaging double figures at 10.0 points per game. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native is tied with Mackinnon for the team-lead in rebounds per game at 4.6 and has scored in double figures in four straight games. He also paces the Phoenix with 27 blocks, ranking sixth in the CAA.
• Ervin reached the 200-made career 3-pointer milestone by connecting on two triples in Elon's last outing against Stony Brook. Ervin now has 201 made threes to his name, moving into eighth all time on treys made for players to dawn the maroon and gold. Earlier this month, he matched his season-high with four made triples at North Carolina A&T. The Gate City, Va., native has made a team-high 44 triples this season while hitting 41.5 percent of his shots from downtown.
• Elon has had a strong presence at the rim this season, recording 71 blocks through its first 24 games. That total surpasses the rejections that the Phoenix posted in all of 2022-23 (69).
• 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 Zac 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 Deandre 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 TOWSON
• The Tigers come into Monday's game with a 14-10 overall ledger with a 7-4 mark in the CAA. After winning seven of nine games to begin CAA play, Towson has dropped two consecutive losses, respectively to Hofstra and Delaware.
• Towson is averaging 67.5 points on 41.3 percent shooting, including 33.1 percent from 3-point range, with 39.1 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 6.5 steals and 4.2 blocks per game, while allowing 64.6 points on 43.3 percent shooting, including 32.8 percent from 3-point range. The Tigers are connecting on 65.3 percent from the foul line.
•Three Towson players are averaging double figures, while two others are averaging between 8.9 and 9.8 points per game. 
• Sophomore Christian May leads the way in PPG with 11.7. While shooting just 38.8% from the field, he has been shooting an impressive 37.3% from 3-point land, cashing in on a team-high 50 makes this season.
• Redshirt junior Nendah Tarke is averaging 11.0 points per game on 35.0 percent shooting from the floor, including 30.2 percent from beyond the arc. The third double-digit scorer for the Tigers is redshirt freshman Dylan Williamson, who averages 10.3 points per game and is shooting 41.3 percent from the field. Williamson is second for the Tigers in 3-point makes, registering 35 so far this season.
• Graduate student forward Charles Thompson leads the team by a wide margin in rebounds per game with 7.9 and total rebounds with 189.  Thompson ranks fourth in the CAA in total rebounds and average rebounds per game. He also packs a strong scoring punch, averaging 8.9 points per game.
• Head coach Pat Skerry is in his 13th season with the Tigers. Skerry recently reached his 200th career win at Towson on Dec. 30, 2023, in the Tigers 97-46 win over Acadia. Skerry also led Towson to their first ever CAA regular season championship in the 2021-22 season. In the same season, the Tigers made it to the NIT first round.
 
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 hosts Delaware in its next game on Thursday night, Feb. 15 at Schar Center. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.