ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines at Schar Center as the Phoenix (10-13, 3-7 CAA) hosts Stony Brook (12-11, 5-5 CAA) on Thursday night, Feb. 8 in a league matchup. Tip-off time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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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 Max Wallace 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.
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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.
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THE MATCHUP
• Elon and Stony Brook will face each other on the basketball hardwood for the fourth time in their series histories on Thursday. The Seawolves hold a 2-1 advantage all-time over the Phoenix in a series dating back to 1999-2000.
• The Phoenix won the most recent matchup last season at Stony Brook, 69-55. Elon began the game with a 22-4 lead and led for nearly the entirety of the contest.
• Four played scored in double figures for Elon with Jerald Gillens-Butler pacing the Phoenix by tying his career-high with 19 points.
Max Mackinnon had 15 for the maroon and gold while
Sam Sherry and
Zac Ervin contributed with 13 and 10, respectively.
• The Phoenix dominated the Seawolves on the glass, 41-31, including a 15-9 margin on the offensive boards.
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LAST TIME OUT
• Elon defeated North Carolina A&T last Saturday, Feb. 3, holding off a furious second-half rally by the Aggies. The win secured the regular season sweep for the Phoenix against its fellow Piedmont Triad foe.
• Ervin led the Phoenix with 12 points off the bench, going 4-of-4 from three-point range. Mackinnon and Sherry added 10 for Elon, who saw eight of its nine players appear in the scoring column, including seven with at least eight or more points.
• The Phoenix held a 42-26 lead at the half over the Aggies and led by as many as 19 points in the second half. N.C. A&T was able to cut the Phoenix's lead down to a one-possession game a couple of times late in the second half, including a one-point lead by the maroon and gold, 59-58, with 3:41 remaining in the game.
• A late jumper by
Rob Higgins with 24 seconds remaining helped seal the eventual 69-65 win for the Phoenix. The Phoenix shot 49 percent from the field in the game while holding the Aggies to 39 percent from the field. Elon, who came into the game ranked third in the CAA in three-point percentage, knocked down 45 percent of its treys (9-of-20).
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SCOUTING ELON
• Elon ranks in the top three of the CAA in bench points per game (3
rd, 27.57), effective field goal percentage (3
rd, 53.2), overall field goal percentage (3
rd, 45.9), scoring offense (3
rd, 76.1 ppg) and three-point percentage (3
rd, 36.5). The Phoenix ranks 34
th overall in the country in bench points and 58
th in the nation in three-point percentage.
• Mackinnon leads a trio of double-figure scorers for the Phoenix with his team-high 12.2 points per game. The Brisbane, Australia, native is tied for the team-lead in rebounds per game (4.7) while also being second on the team in assists with 62. He is also hitting just under 40 percent of his attempts from downtown (39.6). The sophomore has also been a threat on the defensive end, recording 12 steals over his last eight games after having only five in his first 15 contests.
•
TK Simpkins is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game while leading the team in total steals with 31 for a 1.5 steals per game average, fifth in the CAA. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also leads the team in free throws with 73 and has had four games with nine or more free throw makes.
• Higgins is third on the team at 11.3 points per contest while shooting 47.1 percent from the field. The Middletown, N.J., native has raised his scoring during league play so far, averaging 12.2 points per game. The fifth-year is also pacing the Phoenix in assists with 67.
• Sherry is averaging a shade under double figures at 9.8 points per game. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native is tied for the team-lead in rebounds per game at 4.7 and has scored in double figures in three straight games. He also paces the Phoenix with 25 blocks, ranking seventh in the CAA.
• Ervin sits with 199 made three-pointers in his career after matching his season-high with four made triples versus the Aggies. He is tied with Chris Chalko for ninth all-time on the program's career list. The Gate City, Va., native has made a team-high 42 triples this season while hitting 42 percent of his shots from downtown.
• Elon has had a strong presence at the rim this season, recording 69 blocks through its first 23 games. That total matches the rejections that the Phoenix 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
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.
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SCOUTING STONY BROOK
• The Seawolves come into Thursday's game with a 12-11 overall ledger with a 5-5 mark in its second year in the CAA. Stony Brook defeated Northeastern, 59-55, last Saturday at home in its most recent contest.
• Stony Brook is averaging 71.1 points on 42.8 percent shooting, including 34.2 percent from 3-point range, with 36.3 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while allowing 71.7 points on 42.7 percent shooting, including 35.6 percent from 3-point range. The Seawolves are connecting on 71.0 percent from the free throw line.
• Four Seawolves are averaging in double figures, while two others are averaging between 6.9 and 7.4 points per game. Graduate student Tyler Stephenson-Moore paces the team with 14.6 points per game on 43.5 percent shooting, including a team-best 48 three-pointers. Fellow graduate student Aaron Clarke is averaging 13.2 points on 39.0 percent shooting, including 33.9 percent from 3-point range. A third graduate student, Keenan Fitzmorris, has a team-high 24 blocks to go with 10.6 points per game. Junior Andre Snoddy is averaging a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game, including averaging 8.6 boards per game during league play.
• Geno Ford is in his sixth season leading the Stony Brook men's basketball program. He has posted a record of 70-74 with the Seawolves and is 235-229 in his 16 seasons as a head coach overall.
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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.
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UP NEXT
Elon travels to Towson for a Monday night matchup against the Tigers on Feb. 12 at 9 p.m. The game will air on the CBS Sports Network.
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-- ELON --