ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team will travel to intrastate foe UNCW to face off on Saturday night, Feb. 17. The Phoenix (11-16, 4-9 CAA) and the Seahawks (19-6, 10-3 CAA) are set to face off at Trask Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. 
 
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 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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix defeated Delaware 73-67 on Thursday, Feb. 15 at Schar Center. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Blue Hens as well as a five-game long home losing skid, marking Elon's first win at home since its win over North Carolina A&T on Jan. 6. 
•The sophomore duo of Max Mackinnon and TK Simpkins were a tough matchup for the Blue Hens up, effectively combining for 51 points, with Mackinnon notching a career-high 26 and Simpkins putting up a season-best 25. The tandem became the first set of Elon teammates to score 25 or more apiece since Tyler Seibring (28) and Dainan Swoope (25) at William & Mary in February 2018.
•Isaac Harrell had an important block down the stretch, leading to a three-pointer by Mackinnon to put the Phoenix up 65-59 with a minute and change remaining. Clutch plays by Simpkins also were key down the stretch.
•Harrell tied his largest scoring output of eight points for the third time this year and logged a career high 29 minutes. Kendall Campbell reached a new career high in minutes played against the Blue Hens with 26. 
•Seven of 10 Elon players found themselves in the scoring column. 
 
THE MATCHUP
• The Phoenix and the Seahawks will meet each other for the 32nd time on Saturday. UNCW holds a 17-14 advantage in the all-time series going back to 1974.
• This will be the second time the intrastate rivals play each other this season after matching up just under a month ago at the Schar Center, with UNCW coming away with an 82-70 victory on Jan. 18. Elon has lost five straight to the Seahawks.
• In the Seahawks' 82-70 win over Elon earlier this season, UNCW's Trazarien White led all scorers with 31 points in the contest, just shy of his career-high 33 points. White also ripped down 11 boards, notching a double-double. The Seahawks also shot 50 percent (10-20) from 3-point range. Elon's LA Pratt and TK Simpkins paced the Phoenix in scoring, as they both put up 16 points apiece. 
• The last Elon win in the series came in a 78-65 victory over the Seahawks at Schar Center on Feb. 3, 2022. The win snapped UNCW's 12-game winning streak while keeping the Phoenix undefeated at Schar Center against its intrastate league foe with a 3-0 ledger.
• Since becoming league opponents during the 2014-15 season, the Seahawks hold a 13-8 advantage over the maroon and gold during the regular season and are 2-0 in the CAA Tournament.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon ranks in the top-six of the CAA in three-point percentage (2^nd, 35.9), bench points per game (4th, 25.96), assists per game (6th, 13.2), scoring offense (4^th, 74.7 ppg), effective field goal percentage (5^th, 52.6), three-point attempts per game (5^th, 23.8) and three-pointers made per game (5^th, 8.5).
• After starting the season 6-0 on its home floor, the Phoenix had dropped five games in a row at Schar Center before they snapped the streak on Thursday night with its 73-67 win over Delaware. The five losses in a row matched the team's longest losing streak at home since dropping five straight during the 2018-19 season.
• Three players are averaging double-digits for the Phoenix while two others are averaging over 9.3 points per game. Simpkins currently leads the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game. The sophomore has come on strong recently, scoring in double figures for three straight games and in six of the last seven. In that stretch, Simpkins is averaging 15.1 points per game while shooting 36-of-41 from the charity stripe. He is tied with Rob Higgins in assists with (69).
• Mackinnon is second on the team in points per game at 12.3. His impressive play was on display in the win over Delaware, setting a new career high in points (26). The Brisbane, Australia, native is the team leader in rebounds per game (4.6) while also being third on the team in assists with 65. He is also hitting just over 40 percent of his attempts from downtown (40.6).
• 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 tied for first in season assists with Simpkins (69). 
• Sam Sherry is just outside the double-digit average at 9.4 points per game. The junior holds an impressive 58.4 field goal percentage and has knocked down 52.6 percent of his shots from three, with 10 makes in the home stretch of the season. Sherry has already doubled his three-point makes this year, as he entered the 2022-23 campaign having just five career three-pointers made. Sherry's 28 blocks lead the team and ranks sixth overall in the CAA.
• Nick Dorn is averaging 9.3 points per game. The true freshman has already notched 11 double-digit performances. The Charlotte native is the team leader in three-point field goals with 46, just above Zac Ervin's 45 made triples. Ervin is shooting 40.2 percent from downtown while averaging 7.2 points per game. Earlier this month, the graduate student forward reached 200 career three-pointers, becoming one of just nine players to ever do it in the maroon and gold. 
• Harrell tied his season high in points (eight) for the third time in the tilt against the Blue Hens on Thursday. Against Delaware, the freshman logged a career high 29 minutes. The Jonesboro, Arkansas native had never logged more than 20 minutes in a game until the end of January. Harrell has moved into the starting lineup for the last five games and is averaging 23 minutes in that span. 
• Elon has had a strong presence at the rim this season, recording 75 blocks through its first 26 games. That total surpasses the rejections 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 UNCW 
• The Seahawks head into Saturday's tilt with a 19-6 overall record and are tied with Charleston for first place of the CAA at 10-3, they even have the leading winning percentage in the CAA (.760).
• After dropping back-to-back games to begin conference play, UNCW has now won seven of their last eight games and holds the CAA's longest current win streak (five). Its only loss in that span came in a 78-86 overtime loss at Stony Brook.
• The Seahawks are 9-0 at home this season. UNCW has played well away from Trask Coliseum as well, holding a 9-5 road ledger, including an 80-73 victory at No. 12 Kentucky in December.
•UNCW is tied with Charleston in the CAA-lead in points per game at 80.8 on 46.3 percent shooting, including 35.7 percent from three point range, with 35.8 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 6.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, while allowing 70.4 points on 43.9 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent from three-point range. The Seahawks lead the CAA in free throw percentage and are connecting on 75.7 percent from the charity stripe.  
• Four Seahawks (Trazarien White, Shykeim Phillips, KJ Jenkins and Maleeck Harden-Hayes) are averaging in double figures led by junior White, who is averaging 19.8 points on 50 percent from the field. The 1,000-point scorer's average currently ranks in the top 35 of active NCAA D-I players. After getting inconsistent playing time to start the year, White has been a starter in UNCW's last 11 games, in that span they have a 9-2 record.  White also leads the team with rebounds at 7.2, which ranks seventh in the CAA. Graduate student Shyheim, who is averaging 13.8 points on 51.7 percent shooting, also leads the team in assists (88) and steals (42). Fellow graduate students Jenkins (12.3) and Harden-Hayes (10.2) also are in the double figure scoring range. 
•UNCW takes care of the ball very well, as it ranks third nationally in turnovers committed per game, with just 8.6 per game. They are also 24th overall in turnover margin, at 3.4.
•The Seahawks have several other impressive statistical feats, leading the CAA in assist to turnover ratio at 1.95 (39th nationally), effective field goal percentage (81.7, 41st nationally), scoring margin (19.2, 39th nationally) and winning percentage (92.0%, 30th nationally). 
• Takayo Siddle is in his fourth season at the helm of the UNCW men's basketball program. During his time with the Seahawks, he has piloted the Seahawks to a 77-35 overall record, a regular season title in the CAA, two in-season tournament crowns and the 2022 College Basketball Invitational Championship. The Seahawks have advanced to the last two CAA championship games.
 
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 its second of three straight road games on Thursday, Feb. 22, as Elon travels north to face Northeastern. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and will air on FloHoops.