ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team continues its three-game road swing with a trip to Boston to face Northeastern on Thursday night, Feb. 22. Game time between the Phoenix (12-15, 5-9 CAA) and the Huskies (10-17, 5-9 CAA) is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena.
 
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 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.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Thursday will be the 20^th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Huskies in a series going back to 2014-15. Northeastern leads the all-time series, 12-7, but Elon has won three of the last four contests.
• Northeastern defeated the Phoenix in the most recent matchup earlier this season, 84-72, on Jan. 20. The Huskies opened the game with a 46-25 advantage at the half and led the majority of the second period in double figures.
• Max Mackinnon was one of three players who scored in double figures for the Phoenix, leading the way with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. LA Pratt matched his career-high with 16 points while Nick Dorn contributed with 11.
• Both teams shot well in the game at 52 percent each. The Huskies had a slight edge in three-point percentage at 44 percent compared to 42 for the Phoenix. Elon hit 11 triples in the game, its eighth game with 10 or more made three-pointers.
• The last time the two teams met in Boston, the Phoenix escaped with a 74-73 victory over the Huskies last February. A go-ahead basket scored by Jerald Gillens-Butler with nine seconds left along with a block at the buzzer by Sam Sherry helped Elon preserve its win after erasing a four-point deficit in the final minute of the contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• A tip-in at the buzzer by Isaac Harrell helped the Phoenix to a 73-72 win at CAA co-leader UNCW last Saturday, giving Elon its second straight win overall and first against the Seahawks since 2022.
• Harrell's buzzer-beater culminated a strong second half for the maroon and gold, who trailed the host 42-36 at halftime. Elon outscored the Seahawks 37-30 in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the floor (15-of-30) while going 5-of-11 from three-point range.
• Mackinnon scored a game-high 21 points while adding five rebounds and five assists for the Phoenix. TK Simpkins added 14 for the maroon and gold while Sam Sherry contributed with 13.
• Elon shot 49 percent from the floor (28-of-57) overall while also shooting 47 percent from three-point range (9-of-19). The Phoenix held the Seahawks to 28 percent shooting from three (8-of-29).
• The loss was UNCW's first on its home floor this season, falling to 9-1 on the year.
 
MACKINNON GARNERS CAA WEEKLY HONORS
• For his efforts in helping the Phoenix go 2-1 last week, Mackinnon was named the CAA Player of the Week on Monday, Feb. 19. It was the first weekly honor for Mackinnon this season.
• The sophomore was key in helping the Phoenix go 2-1 last week, including winning a pair of games versus Delaware and UNCW, who are both in the top-six of the CAA standings. The Brisbane, Australia, native averaged 17.7 points per game while shooting over 60 percent from the floor (20-of-33) while also knocking down 50 percent of his attempts from three-point range (7-of-14). He also averaged 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the maroon and gold.
• The CAA reigning Rookie of the Year scored a career-high 26 points with three steals in the Phoenix's 73-67 win over Delaware last Thursday prior to his performance at UNCW.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon ranks in the top-five of the CAA in three-point percentage (2^nd, 36.2), scoring offense (74.7 ppg), steals per game (4^th, 6.3), three-pointers per game (4^th, 8.6), bench points per game (5^th, 25.56), effective field goal percentage (5^th, 52.8) and three-point attempts (5^th, 23.6).
• Three players are averaging double-digits for the Phoenix while three others are averaging over seven points per game. Mackinnon and Simpkins are tied for the team-lead in scoring at 12.6 points per game with Mackinnon holding the lead in points per game in CAA play at 13.4 compared to Simpkins at 12.8. The duo combined for 51 points in the Phoenix's win over Delaware last Thursday, becoming the first set of Elon teammates to score 25 or more points since 2018.
• Mackinnon is the team leader in rebounds per game (4.6) while also being second on the squad in assists with 70. He is also hitting over 40 percent of his attempts from downtown (41.1).
• Simpkins has come on strong recently, scoring in double figures for four straight games and in seven of the last eight. In that stretch, Simpkins is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 40-of-45 from the charity stripe.
• Sam Sherry is just outside the double-digit average at 9.5 points per game. The junior leads the team in field goal percentage (57.8) among players with 10 or more makes. Sherry's 29 blocks lead the team and rank eighth overall in the CAA.
• Dorn is averaging 9.3 points per game. The Charlotte native is the team leader in three-point field goals with 48.
• Elon has had a strong presence at the rim this season, recording 76 blocks through its first 27 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 NORTHEASTERN
• The Huskies are 10-17 overall and are tied with the Phoenix with a 5-9 record in the CAA. Northeastern has lost the past two games with its most recent contest being an 82-62 setback at Hofstra last Saturday.
• Northeastern is averaging 70.3 points on 46.3 percent shooting, including 32.4 percent from 3-point range, with 33.1 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.0 blocks per game, while allowing 73.1 points on 47.4 percent shooting, including 38.0 percent from 3-point range. The Huskies are connecting on 75.1 percent from the free throw line.
• Three players are averaging in double figures led by graduate student Chris Doherty, who is averaging 13.3 points on 52.9 percent shooting. He also leads the team in rebounds (6.8 rpg) and assists (65). Fellow graduate student Luka Sakota is averaging 11.6 points while sophomore Harold Woods is averaging 10.4 points on 58.2 percent shooting.
• Bill Coen is the all-time winningest coach in Northeastern history and has led the Huskies to a CAA-best four regular-season championships since 2006 and two NCAA tournaments over the last nine seasons. The Huskies lead the conference with 162 league wins since Coen's arrival in 2005-06 and produced 34 All-CAA first team selections and nine All-Rookie accolades.
 
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 closes out its three-game road trip with a visit to Long Island with a matchup versus Hofstra on Saturday, Feb. 22. That game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start time and will stream on FloHoops.